


The PlumbBob Saga

by Tando



Category: The Sims (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Bridgeport, Diary/Journal, F/M, Gen, Light Romance, Mystery, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, POV First Person, School Drama, Sunset Valley, The Sims 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-06-24
Updated: 2014-10-26
Packaged: 2018-02-10 05:26:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 36,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2012670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tando/pseuds/Tando
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Sims are aware that there's an outside force controlling them? Well they do, they call it the PlumbBob, and when Cindy and her family move to Sunset Valley, the PlumbBob has some plans for her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Moving In With A New Friend

**Author's Note:**

> I found interest in the Sims through my long-time interest in SimCity. After buying The Sims 3: Late Nigh Expansion Pack because I didn't understand the concept of Expansion Packs and getting frustrated because I didn't see the tiny label "Requires the Sims 3 to play" on the bottom, I bought the Sims 3 and finally started playing. Although it was different than SimCity me and my sister enjoyed it quite a bit (but now I need to compete with her for the computer because she always wants to play).

Week 1, Day 1 Sunday

I can't remember the day I got my Green PlumbBob. My mom tells me that I was a newborn baby when I received my PlumbBob. My younger brother, Tommy has one too. Everybody in Sunset Valley has a Green PlumbBob. As far as I'm concerned everyone in the world has one. A Green PlumbBob is the little green jewel that floats over your head. It's so helpful, it shows me exactly what to do, at all times. Right now it's telling me to watch TV on our old time television. My Green PlumbBob also gave me this book of memories to write in. I think everyone else has one, but I can't be sure, since the PlumbBob told me not to show anyone my memory book, I guess it doesn't want anyone else showing theirs too. Well, I just moved to Sunset Valley from the Old Country. We live on 60 Rose St. in a two bedroom house with a small living room and kitchen. My mom and daddy told me that they plan on using their PlumbBob's Buy Mode to add some more furniture and get Tommy his own room when they have the Simoleons to do it. My mom has a job at the local bistro as an ingredient taster and daddy has a job at the tall building in town serving coffee. Tommy and I go to Community Public School, at least we will tomorrow. My mom's serving autumn salad for dinner tonight and she's calling the family to the table now. So, I guess that's all for now. I'll try to update this memory book as much as I can, to preserve all of my memories.

Week 1, Day 2 Monday

Today was my first day of school. At school, I was introduced to the class, and I made friends with Mortimer Goth and Bella Bachelor. Bella's really nice, and she loves the color red. Mortimer isn't as nice, but Bella's convinced me that he can be nice when he wants to. During recess we played on the playground. Bella and I were on the swings.

"So Cindy, where did you come from?" Bella asked.

My PlumbBob was set to "Talk to Friends" which means I was to focus on talking to my friends.

"Old Country, it's really far away." I told her.

Bella looked surprised.

"That's where Mortimer's dad is from." she said.

Mortimer, playing hopscotch by himself, looked over in our direction as she spoke. His eyes her an eerie darkness in his eyes. But he still smiled and waved at us.

"I think Mortimer likes you." Bella said, nudging me in the shoulder and winking.

"No, I think he likes you." I told her.

"No, he likes you." Bella countered her.

"He likes you." I repeated.

"He likes you!" Bella yelled back.

We both fell on the floor laughing, Mortimer came over and stared at us.

"Girls are weird." he observed.

Week 1, Day 3 Tuesday

When I came home from school today, there was a package waiting on the dining room table. It was a gift from a distant aunt of mine. It was a little doll. The letter that came with the package said that his name was Boinky and I should take good care of him. I'll put him on my desk where I have my computer. Anyway, I started writing a book today. My PlumbBob put "Learn the Writing Skill" into my wish box. If I get enough lifetime happiness points, I'll be able to get a bunch of cool prizes. According to my PlumbBob, I'm level two in the Writing Skill. I hope I get better at writing my book.

Week 1, Day 4 Wednesday

You would never guess what happened today! I woke up this morning and saw that Boinky wasn't on my desk. So I got up and looked around. There, in the middle of the room, was a bigger Boinky! And he can talk too! I ran to my parent's bedroom to show them, but mom didn't believe me. Thank goodness daddy did. He told me he would create a potion that would make Boinky real. He then ran down to the basement and came back up with a beaker of strange orange liquid. He told me to feed it to Boinky. I brought it to my room, where Boinky was sitting on my bed.

"What's that?" Boinky asked.

"It's a potion that'll make you real." I told him.

Boinky looked at the liquid in the beaker for a few minutes. He swished it around, and tapped the glass a few times.

"What's it like, to be a real Sim?" Boinky asked.

"It's...well…it's kind of like…" I began.

Then I realized that I didn't know how to explain it.

"It's much better than how you're living now. You'll get to sleep in a bed, go to school, and eat real food." I told him, it was all I could come up with.

"If I become real, could you promise me something?" Boinky asked, lowering his voice to a hushed whisper.

"Sure Boinky, you're my best friend." I reassured Boinky.

Boinky turned to me, and his plush cotton face turned bright red.

"Could we, could we be a mom and a dad?" Boinky asked, shyly.

I was taken aback by Boinky bringing this up. I had never thought of having kids of my own, especially with Boinky. Is it even possible to have kids with your imaginary friend? But I really wanted Boinky to be real, was it worth making such a big promise to him?

"Alright." I agreed.

"Really?" Boinky said, nearly springing off the bed.

Boinky and I hugged and Boinky brought up the beaker. He took a deep breath, and gulped the potion down. Suddenly, a bright light began surrounding Boinky, and he was uplifted into the air. The bright lights changed colors dramatically and Boinky disappeared into a bright flash. The lights began to dim, and in place of Boinky, was a dark-skinned, blue-haired, black eyed boy. His clothes resembled Boinky's old skin. Boinky was real.

"I'm real! I can't believe it!" Boinky cheered.

I ran into the living room to show my mom and daddy.

"Mom, daddy, look Boinky's real!" I cried, dragging Boinky into the room.

My little brother, Tommy was being held by my mom, and he started crying when seeing Boinky.

"Cindy, your, friend is scaring Tommy. Please, we'll be happy for you to stay with us, just try to keep away from Tommy." mom told Boinky.

Boinky and I hugged again, it looks like Boinky was here to stay.


	2. Aging Up

Week 1, Day 6 Friday

I'm sorry I haven't been recording my memories, but I've been so absorbed into writing my book that I've been forgetting. Well, I just finished my book, and guess what? It was a Best Seller! When my PlumbBob delivered the message, I was so excited! And now, the PlumbBob community wants me to write a science fiction novel! I so excited, I think I'm going to be a famous writer! If I'm good enough, the PlumbBob committee might have me be a writer as my Lifetime Wish! I want to be a writer!

Week 1, Day 7 Saturday

Today I've become a teenager. Mortimer and Bella are becoming teenagers today too. We've been told by our PlumbBob that another trait has been added to us, but I don't feel any different than I did yesterday. Then again, when I was looking at some of my pervious entries I realized how much more mature I've become. In a few days, I'll be going to high school. I've been looking at the available after-school clubs and I think I want to join the school newspaper. Sounds fun.

Week 2, Day 9 Monday

The first day of high school was terrible! There were just so many people in my class, and it was really crowded in the hallways. At the same time, I don't know why I felt so uncomfortable around those people. They're all pretty much the same people I went to elementary school with, well, except for this guy I met, Percy Keaton. He's a little older than Mortimer, Bella, and I. During lunch he helped me with my homework and he told me that he's also on the school newspaper. I hope the school newspaper is fun, because I can't stand normal school. Tommy became a child today and went to his first day of school. He came home with stories about meeting new friends and learning new things. As annoying as he is, I can't help but smile a little bit at him, knowing that was how I use to be.

Week 2, Day 10 Tuesday

My heart nearly flew out of my chest when Percy asked me to go to Hogan's after school today. I met him in front of the diner and we chose to eat outside. We talked about books, TV shows, and sports. Well, actually he was the one talking about sports mostly, I didn't have the faintest idea about what he was talking about. Percy and I were sharing a strawberry milkshake and some fries while we were conversing.

"Dis wompf es fredesche." Percy commented, as he tasted one of the fries.

"What?" I asked him, having absolutely no idea what he just said.

"It's Simlish. It means, 'this food is very good'. They teach Simlish in the upper classes. Apparently, the PlumbBob committee is trying to integrate it as SimNation's official language." Percy informed.

"Oh, well maybe you could teach me a little Simlish." I asked, trying to be flirty.

"Alright then." Percy smiled, his cheeks beginning to turn pink.

"There are different Simlish variations for each life stage. For example, only female teenagers, such as yourself, would say something like: Bloo Bagoo? or 'How are you doing?'. And only an elder Sim would say something like: Hallo? Hallo? Which is an elder Sim's way of saying 'hello'." Percy explained, using a character voice for each phase.

We were both laughing and having a good time when I glanced over at my watch. It was already five of clock! I needed to get home!

"Hey Percy, I've had fun today, but I need to get home." I told Percy, apologetically.

"Alright then, see you tomorrow Cindy." Percy replied, winking at me.

We both got up to leave. My PlumbBob was telling me that our date went well. Wait, our date? Percy and I were just chatting after school. I got on my bike and headed home, waving Percy goodbye. Oh well, even if it was technically a "date", I still had a lot of fun. So much that I nearly flew all the way home.

 

I had just arrived home at five thirty. Mom was preparing dinner on our cheap stove. I could definitely smell macaroni and cheese on the stove.

"So, how was your day?" Mom asked.

"Good Mom, I went to Hogan's with Percy Keaton." I told her.

"You went to where with who?" Daddy asked, looking over to the dining table from his newspaper.

"Cindy went on a date with Percy." Tommy said, running into the room with his toy boat.

"It was not a date!" I spat back at Tommy.

"I'm sure you're telling the truth Cindy." Daddy smiled at me, as he sat down at the dining table.

"Alright everyone, dinner's ready. Mac and cheese tonight." Mom announced, placing the dish on the dining table.

We each helped ourselves to a plate of gooey macaroni and cheese. As we each sat down, Daddy began talking about his day.

"Well family, today I've achieved my goal. I got a promotion at the office! I'm now a Corporate Drone." Daddy announced.

"That's wonderful sweetie! You'll be at the top in no time!" Mom congratulated to Daddy, hugging him warmly.

"But enough about me, how was your day honey?" Daddy asked Mom.

"Oh, just business as usual. It's not very exciting cutting vegetables you know. Ah, but it does pay the bills, what about you Cindy?" Mom asked, looking over to me.

I was perfectly content eating my macaroni and cheese, but after swallowing my latest bite I started talking about my day.

"Today our teacher taught us about vampires. Like real, sun-hating, blood sucking vampires." Cindy told them.

"Really? In what class was this?" Daddy asked, looking astounded.

"Expansion class. 'Expanding your knowledge', that's what my teacher said. Could you believe that vampires are in the same chapter of our Expansion textbook as celebrities? I mean, how are they even related?" Cindy asked, laughing.

"Have you ever watched the Drama channel? Those actors might as well be vampires." Daddy remarked.

Everyone at the table started laughing, together as a family.


	3. The PlumbBob

Week 2, Day 11 Wednesday

Today I started my first day working on the school newspaper. It's actually really fun, and to top it off, Percy's there too. After I got home, I got a call from Bella.

"Cindy! Everyone's been talking about you and Percy. Are you guys a couple or what?" Bella asked.

"Well, not officially, but I did go out on a date with him yesterday." I told her.

"Oh, my, gosh, you guys are totally a couple! Have you guys kissed yet?" she asked excitedly.

"No, no, we haven't done anything like that." I told her.

"Well you never know, my parents met and got married on the same day. It all depends on what your PlumbBob wants." she said.

My PlumbBob, I didn't really think about it that often anymore, but it did control my every move, even if it doesn't feel like it. I mean, right now I'm seeing what to say to Bella on my action menu. I wonder, what was it like to not have a PlumbBob?

"So, what about you? Are you snagging any dates?" I asked, turning the conversation over to her.

"Well, no, but I do like someone…" Bella snickered, keeping me from all the juicy details.

"Oh? Who is it?" I pried, trying to get her to spill.

"It's Mortimer." she answered, giggling.

Mortimer Goth? Of course she liked him, they've been best friends since they were kids. Who else could it have been?

"Are you going to ask him out?" I asked.

"No, I don't think I can." Bella admitted.

"Well why not?" I asked.

"Because, we've been friends for so long, it would just be too weird not being friends." Bella explained.

"Oh, I see." I said.

We didn't say much after that and soon hung up. Bella and Mortimer could be the perfect couple, why couldn't she ask him out? Oh well, at least they're friends, right?

Week 2, Day 13 Friday

Friday at last! Although working on the school newspaper is fun, it felt good to come home and rest. But apparently, that wasn't what my PlumbBob had in mind. The minute I got home, I spotted the couch in the living room. I nearly ran over to the couch and sat myself down. But just as I was about to turn the TV on, my PlumbBob told me to go and work on my latest book. I honestly didn't want to work on my book, so I canceled the order from the PlumbBob and turned on the TV, thinking I would have the whole weekend to work on it. The next thing I knew, I started feeling really numb, until I couldn't feel my body at all. Then, I see my hand lift itself up and turn off the TV. I couldn't feel my body at all, so I could only watch as my body stood up on it's own and walked itself over to the computer. I became anxious, why couldn't I control my own body? And if I wasn't controlling it, who was? My body sat itself down and turned the computer on. That's when I realized that it was my PlumbBob controlling me, since the PlumbBob is a powerful green gemstone floating over my head, and it's making me feel numb with it's radioactive waves that control my mind. Once the computer turned on, my hands mindlessly pecked away at the keyboard. I tried to regain feeling in my body, but I couldn't. I just couldn't move at all by myself. I heard the front door swing open and Tommy walked in from school.

"Hey sis." Tommy mumbled.

"Hello Tommy." I heard myself say.

I wanted to tell Tommy that my PlumbBob wasn't letting me control my own body, that I needed help regaining control of it, but I couldn't. Tommy's face looked blank, expressionless. I watched him, as he sat down on the dining room table and started on his homework. Wait, Tommy was doing his homework? Tommy would never start his homework right after he got home on a Friday. Then I realized, his PlumbBob must be controlling him to. And there was nothing we could do about it.


	4. The Library and Mom

Week 2, Day 14 Saturday

When I woke up today, my fingers felt incredibly sore. My PlumbBob had kept me typing until about ten p.m. last night. Even though my fingers really hurt when I tried to move them, they didn't appear red or swollen. In fact, they looked totally normal. Then I remembered that my PlumbBob's radioactive waves also control my appearance. I also saw that "Sore Fingers" wasn't on my mood panel. Actually, it said that I was very happy, having just had a good night's sleep. Well I didn't, I was tired and sore and the mood panel wasn't saying anything about it. I slumped back onto my bed and groaned. I just wanted to go back to sleep. But as usual, my PlumbBob ordered me to get up. I groaned loudly, which turned into a yell. After letting my anger out, I eased my way into the kitchen. There, Tommy was sitting at the dining room table, drinking a box of Flying Iguana juice.

"Green Iguanas Flying in the Sky !" Tommy loudly proclaimed, saying the popular juice box catchphrase.

I went to the refrigerator. I opened it and placed my hand in. A bowl of cereal appeared into my hand. I then closed the refrigerator and sat down at the dining room table. After eating up my cereal, I put the bowl into the dishwasher and asked myself, what am I going to do today? My PlumbBob automatically suggested that I work more on my book. After working all afternoon yesterday, I really didn't want to work on my book some more again. I pushed the thought out of my mind, and this time the PlumbBob didn't argue with me. It then suggested I go to the library. "Fair enough." I thought aloud.

I rode my bike up to the Papyrus Memorial Library. I climbed up the narrow staircase to the library entrance. The rooms were quaint and quiet, which suited me. After realizing that I've read most off the books available, including some of my own titles, I tried asking some staff for a directory. I then realized that there was no staff, as the secretary desk was empty. I was about to storm out of the building when I accidentally tripped over a lump in the carpet. Once I got back up, I investigated the lump I had tripped over. I reached under the carpet, and discovered that the thing I had tripped over was a old, beaten leather-bound book. Suddenly, my PlumbBob ordered me to put the book back where I had found it and go home. I pushed the thought away and opened the book. I then felt a searing pain in my head. I felt my body start to go numb again, as I was quickly losing feeling in my arms and legs. Inching my arm, I painfully resisted and put the book into my inventory. My arm then gave out to the numbness and I could see from the floor's reflection, my eyes had become nothing but a blank stare, and a fake smile. I watched myself get up, exit the library, and head home, no doubt to work more on my book.

My room was dark and empty. I hid under my covers, flashlight in hand. It was around eleven p.m. according to my PlumbBob. I was almost certain it wouldn't notice me sneaking a look at my book at this hour. Deep under my covers, I flipped the flashlight on. My covers were fairly thick, so no light shown through. I opened up the book, releasing a cloud of dust along with it. I fought the urge to cough, burying my head into my sheets until I knew all the dust had cleared. Then I took my flashlight and I shone it at the book.

_A Totally, Completely, Utterly, Fictional Tale by Tragic Clown_

_There once was a boy named Buddy. Buddy was a normal kid, like everyone else. In the morning, he liked making pancakes with his mom. In the afternoon, he liked to help change his little sister's diaper, and at night, he likes to close his own door and climb into his bed and play with his toys._

This book was insane, it had absolutely no context to it, and the things listed here that the character "Buddy" liked to do were impossible. Everyone knew that your PlumbBob opens doors for you using it's radioactive waves, and a child can't make pancakes, let alone with another person. Why would anyone write this? Why would someone write a nonsense book about someone doing things inconceivable by any Sim. Then it hit me, maybe this person wasn't a Sim. Just then, I heard the bedroom door creak open. I quickly flipped off the flashlight and hid the book.

"Sweetie, are you still awake?" Mom asked in a sweet tone.

I didn't answer.

"Cindy Heroor, I know you're awake, now answer me this minute!" Mom commanded, in a much harsher tone.

I was shocked, I had never heard Mom speak to me like that.

"Yes Mom, I'm awake." I replied softly.

"Speak up child! Watcher, you'll be the death of me." Mom complained, waving her arms in the air.

"Mom, are you ok?" I asked, tentatively.

"Well of course I'm not ok! What with you sneaking around behind my back. I know you were up to something in here, and I'm going to find it!" Mom proclaimed, marching into my room.

Mom bluntly grabbed my head and threw me to the side, knocking my head against the wooden backboard of my bed. She threw the bed across the room, smashing it into the wall, knocking the book out of it's hiding place. Her PlumbBob's light radiated over to the book.

"Ah ha! That's what you've been up to! Thought you could sneak around me huh?" Mom growled, picking up the book.

"You won't be seeing this for awhile." she snarled, and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

I sniffled, trying to push myself up. My bed was in shambles, the wooden support smashed into pieces. How could Mom even do this? How was she strong enough to lift up my bed and hurl it across the room? I didn't know, but I knew why she did it. Her PlumbBob was controlling her, just like it controls me. Was this our purpose? Are we just pawns in someone's sick game? I was bursting into tears when Daddy opened the door.

"Cindy? Are you alright?" Daddy asked, quickly rushing to my side.

"I don't know." I replied, brushing away some of the oncoming tears.

"It's going to be alright sweetheart. Mom just isn't feeling well." Daddy told me.

I looked at him. His usual brown hair had a grayness to it, as if the world had been aging him. But there was a comforting sense of wisdom in his dark green eyes.

"Where's Mom?" I asked.

Daddy looked towards their room.

"She's sobbing on her bed. I think this has been a rough night for all of us. We should all just get some sleep." he told me.

"Alright, goodnight Daddy." I said, looking to my ruined bed.

"I'll get a sleeping bag for you in Buy Mode." Daddy told me.

My old ruined bed disappeared and was replaced by a standard, blue sleeping bag.

"There you go, now go get some sleep. We'll sort this all out in the morning." Daddy promised.

We kissed each other goodnight and Daddy left the room. I rolled myself into the sleeping bag, wondering what tomorrow would bring.


	5. The Morning After and Big Brother

Week 2, Day 15 Sunday

I woke up from my night's sleep in the sleeping bag. My head was a bit sore from not sleeping on a pillow. I got up and neatly put away my sleeping bag, and headed out to the kitchen. Once I was in the kitchen, I noticed it was very quiet, with the exception of the sound of, sobbing. I noticed that Mom was in the room, along with Daddy and Tommy. Mom's PlumbBob was a deep orange, signally that she wasn't feeling well. Daddy and Tommy were comforting her as she sobbed on the couch. I tuned into her PlumbBob, and it looked like she felt, sad. There was simply no Moodlet to describe it, she was simply unhappy. I was so busy examining her feelings that I didn't notice Boinky was standing beside me.

"You're not feeling well either, are you?" he asked, hands in his pockets.

"You're just reading my PlumbBob." I rolled my eyes at him, as if he could understand.

"I don't need to read your PlumbBob to know that something serious went down with you and your Mom. I heard all the loud noises last night, what the heck happened?" he asked, taking farther into the hallway.

"I don't know what happened. Mom just got really angry for some reason, and she took the new book I got." I told him, trying hard to hold back tears.

"Wait, you got a new book? From where? Man Cindy, you need to keep me more updated on what's going on with you. You've been all over the place lately." Boinky said, sounding a little upset.

"Why do I need to tell you everything?" I burst out at him.

I then noticed that Mom, Daddy, and Tommy were all looking and Boinky and I, but I really just didn't care.

"Well Cindy, you use to tell me so much more, I feel like I don't know you as well as I did when I-" Boinky started but I abruptly cut him off.

"That was when you were a rag doll Boinky! Things are different now!" I blurted out at him, nearly screaming.

I instantly regretted those words. Boinky looked extremely hurt, tears starting to roll down his cheeks. He sniffled a bit, and suddenly, it felt like we were children again, and Boinky had just fallen and scraped his knee. But that, I realized, was a long time ago, and things are different now.

"Well I see you no longer need me around anymore." Boinky said, storming out of the hallway and into the room he shared with Tommy.

He soon came out with a large travel case, and with his Imaginary Friend abilities, soon had all his things packed into the case.

"No, Boinky…" Daddy said, trying to convince Boinky not to leave, but not finding the right words.

"I'm sorry Pops, you've always been like a father to me, but I need to do this on my own." Boinky told him.

Daddy backed off, but Boinky soon met with another obstacle, Tommy tugging on his pant leg.

"Don't leave Boinky." Tommy pleaded, tears spilling down the child's cheek, tightly clinging to his pants.

"Squirt, I'll miss you, but I need to go." Boinky said, gently pushing Tommy off of him.

Boinky pulled his travel case to the front door, taking one last side wards glance at us, and the house. Then he closed the door. I watched as each of the families' PlumbBobs turned from green, to yellow, and then to orange. And soon, each family member walked away, leaving me to stare at the doorway.

Week 2, Day 16 Monday

Nobody'd heard of Boinky's departure until I had to break the news to all his teachers and friends at school today. His fellow Drama Club members were especially disappointed, since he was the lead in their upcoming play. It seemed like the more I found out about him through some of his friends, the more I realized how interested in me he was. They told me that he was always talking about me, to my shock and surprise, and one of his closer friends, Michael Bachelor, had some interesting things to say about him. It was a good thing I caught Michael, who's Bella's older brother, since he would be graduating tomorrow.

"So he finally did it?" Michael asked, spinning his basketball on his finger.

"Excuse me?" I asked, bewildered.

"He finally jumped ship like he'd been planning?" Michael asked, seeming more interested in his basketball than in our conversation.

"He was planning to run away?" I asked.

Michael put down the basketball.

"You didn't know? He'd been planning to run away for days. He told me that you were neglecting him, and it was making him really depressed. So he thought he'd run away." he told me.

"Do you know where he was planning to run away to?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's a place called Starlight Shores. He said he'd go there and try to make it in show business. Didn't say which kind though. I think he'd succeed in any kind, don't you think?" he asked.

I didn't answer, because I didn't know. Michael then excused himself, saying he had things to do. I went about the rest of the day in a blur. Would I ever see Boinky again? Why wasn't I more aware of Boinky's interest in show business, or him planning to run away for days? How could I have been so ignorant to his changing life? I arrived home, and as the door swung open, I noticed a strange man was standing near our tomato garden. He was tall, very tall, had a casual beige jacket on with, an ascot? His hair was brown, the same shade as mine, and he was standing near our plants, was he watering them?

"Um, excuse me, what are you doing here?" I asked the man.

"Cindy, you don't recognize me?" the man asked, sounding surprised.

"Are you some distant uncle? Or are you one of those weird salesmen from the consignment store?" I inquired, inspecting the man's odd choice of clothing.

"It's me, Tommy! Remember, I age up today!" Tommy reminded her, gesturing to his watch.

"Tommy? But you're, you can't be, you're tall!" I gasped in astonishment.

"Hey, you got taller when you aged up, why can't I?" Tommy asked, crossing his arms.

"Ok, but why are you watering Mom's garden? I thought you hated working." I asked.

"Hey, that's when I was a kid, but as you can see, I've grown. And I got to skip school. So I stayed home today. Also, I think I have my Lifetime Wish down too." he told me.

"You do? Well, that's great Tommy!" I said, but really feeling confused inside.

"Well, while I was at home, I decided to try to look through Dad's old telescope in the backyard, and you know what? I discovered a planet!" Tommy announced.

I was shocked. This new Tommy was, ambitious, nothing like the little kid I was use to.

"I think I want to join the Military career. Because I read that when you climb to the top of the ladder, you get to be an astronaut. I want to become an astronaut and visit the planet I discovered. I know it sounds crazy, but I think if I work hard enough, I can do it." he told me.

"Wow Tommy, you have your whole future planned out in front of you, in one day…" I said, in complete shock.

Just then, Daddy's Big Lemon drove into the lot.

"It's Dad! I'm going to go tell him about my plans!" Tommy declared, running over to Daddy's car.

As Daddy freaked out at Tommy's new appearance just as I had, I realized just how fast time goes by. You're only a kid for seven days, then you become a teen for fourteen days, then you're a young adult for twenty one days, then an adult for twenty one days, then an elder for at least sixteen days until you die. In total, that's only a minimum of ninety days. Why couldn't a Sim's life be longer? Why couldn't Sims live for a hundred, or a thousand days? It would be nice to live longer, or even better, to live forever. I looked over at Daddy and Tommy, who were celebrating Tommy's age up by jumping excitedly around the front yard. I guess since there was no known way we could expand our lifespan, we should just be happy with the time we have now.


	6. Prom and Forgiveness

Week 2, Day 17 Tuesday

Today the teacher's announced that Prom would be in two days and we would have those two days to find a date. I stared down at my desk, wondering if Boinky had been planning on asking me to Prom. The bell rang and we all got out of our seats. I walked over to my locker to find Percy there, waiting for me.

"Hey Cindy, did you hear the announcement about Prom?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, I did." I replied, keeping my head down.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd go to Prom with me." Percy asked, cheeks brimming red.

My heart sprang out of my chest. I couldn't believe it, Percy had just asked me to Prom! I turned to him, ready to give him an answer.

"Of course I'll go with you Percy." I replied, shacking.

"Alright then, I'll pick you up on Prom night, ok?" he asked, leaning in a little closer to me.

"Ok." I replied, ready to faint.

"Ok then." he replied, and left.

I was in such a state of shock I didn't notice the bell ring.

"Shoot, I'm late!" I cried.

The day had finally ended and Bella and I were talking on the bus.

"Percy asked you to Prom! I can't believe it, I'm so jealous!" Bella cried, nearly choking me as she grabbed me in excitement.

"Hey, I'll sure Mortimer will ask you to Prom, just wait." I assured her.

Bella crossed her arms.

"But I don't wanna wait for him to ask me! I want him to ask me now!" Bella complained.

I understood her impatience.

"Just hang tight, he'll ask you before Thursday." I reassured her.

The bus stopped at my house, and I had said goodbye to Bella. I had arrived at the house when I saw Mom, sitting on the couch. I didn't really know what to say, or do. So I simply walked over to the couch and sat down next to her. I looked at her, her hair was noticeably grayer and she had wrinkles on her once beautiful face. She looked tired, and sad. She had quit her job at the Bistro, even though the owner had told her that she was their best cook. She turned to me, her eyes red and bloodshot, from hours of crying.

"Hi Mom." I said, looking at her.

Mom's eyes widened.

"H…how was sc…school sweetie?" Mom asked, choking up again.

"Good." I replied.

"Do you want a snack? Maybe some juice?" Mom asked, sniffling.

"Ok. I'll have some juice." I replied.

"*Sniff* Ok then." Mom said.

We hugged each other tightly, and Mom got up and got each of us a juice box. We watched TV together until Mom had to go cook dinner. Things were finally working out between us again, now we can just be a normal family. But then I remembered the book that she'd token from me, could I get it back without her noticing? It was obviously important if she wouldn't give it back, even if she did feel sorry for what she did. Could I get it back without her knowing? And if I could, where could I find it? She probably hid it in her room, where I was less likely to be. But, what was so important about the book anyway? When I read it, it was just a bunch of impossible garbage, it's impossible to do any of the things mentioned in the book. Or was it? If memory serves, the book mentioned a Sim opening a door by himself. I wonder, could I open a door myself? It sounded crazy, my PlumbBob has always opened doors for me, but could I open a door by myself? It seemed totally possible, I could open lots of other things before, why not a door? I'd just never thought of it before. Gosh, why hadn't anybody thought of it before?

After finishing the juice box, I went to my room. There, I let the door close behind me. I suddenly turned around, and my PlumbBob's light opened the door again. I walked over to the door and grasped the knob. It felt normal somehow, like I'd actually done this before. I pulled the knob slowly, and I was able to successfully close the door. I felt my PlumbBob's radiating light try to push the door open. If only I could turn off my PlumbBob, just for a little bit, so I could do this on my own, I thought. But that was crazy, shutting off your PlumbBob, if it was even possible, would be like shutting off your brain. But what if I could think without my PlumbBob? It's entirely possible, since the PlumbBob allowed some freewill anyway, and of course I had a mind of my own. But I'd be totally lost without my PlumbBob, I thought, or was it my PlumbBob thinking for me? I couldn't tell the difference anyway, what if all my thoughts and actions are controlled by the PlumbBob only, I don't know it? Now that was crazy, I don't think my PlumbBob would truly approve of what I was doing now. I squeezed the knob and slowly turned it, and with my own strength, pushed the door open. There, it's open, and I did it all by myself. I felt somewhat proud of myself, for achieving a feat no other Sim has ever done before. Even though that was fun, I need to go start my homework now. Oh gosh, that was definitely my PlumbBob talking, I thought.


	7. Drama and Resolutions

Week 1, Day 18 Wednesday

I had just gotten to school when Mortimer drove up in his car. He parked in his usual spot, and came up to me.

"Hey Cindy!" Mortimer called, waving to me, one arm behind his back.

"Hey Mortimer, what's up?" I asked, chaining my bike.

"I brought you something." Mortimer pulled his arm from behind his back to reveal a large bouquet of red flowers.

I knew exactly what he would say next.

"Mortimer, I'm flattered, but I already have a date to Prom." I told him.

Mortimer sighed, and with him, the flowers seemed to wilt.

"Oh, alright then." Mortimer mumbled, and sulked off.

That was odd. Mortimer never showed interest in me before, it always seemed like he liked Bella, not me. I hope I didn't hurt his feelings too much, I reacted as best as I could, while in shock of course. But then my mind wandered off to the PlumbBob, what if it told him to ask me out? But I don't think Mortimer's PlumbBob would have any motive behind asking me out, or did it? Maybe I'm just taking this the wrong way, I'm probably just thinking too much into this. I was at my locker when Percy came up to me.

"Hey, I saw on the PlumbBob Feed that Mortimer asked you out." Percy told me.

"It's on the PlumbBob Feed already?" I asked, closing my locker.

The PlumbBob Feed was the PlumbBob's latest update, a live feed on the PlumbBob that shows what all your friends are doing, all, day, at all times. I personally find it annoying, so I disabled it, but that also means I'm always a little behind on the latest gossip.

"Yeah, so what did you say?" Percy asked, sounding agitated.

"Calm down Percy, I turned him down." I assured him.

"Oh thank goodness. I was hoping for that." Percy sighed in relief.

"Why would I say yes to him if I already had a date? That's just silly." I told him.

"Well, I mean, on the PlumbBob Feed, a lot of the girls said that they'd do anything to have a date with Mortimer, since his families' really wealthy." Percy informed me.

"Well that's stupid and shallow." I told him.

"Yeah, that is." Percy said, awkwardly scratching his head.

The bell rang and I parted with Percy to head to class. Then I thought, what would Bella think of it? I just realized that she'd probably would be furious with me. And I sit next to her in this first class. I took my seat in class, Bella was already in her seat. Her head was down, black hair splayed everywhere. I nudged her in the arm.

"You ok Bella?" I asked, looking at her usually perfect face.

"How can I be ok?" she asked, sniffling.

I didn't know what to say next. What was I suppose to say? That I was sure that Mortimer would ask her to Prom next since I turned him down? As lovely as it sounds, I didn't know if it was certain. The teacher saved me when he came into the room and started the lesson. I wish Mortimer hadn't asked me out, it's made everything way more complicated. And before all this, I honestly thought he liked Bella. They're a perfect couple, why would Mortimer stray from that? I sank into my chair, all this thinking is giving me a headache. I tried to pay attention to the lesson, but all this garbage going on in my mind made it incredibly difficult. I was rather relieved when the bell rang and we were all excused to our next class. Mortimer, why take a sudden interest in me now? Maybe it wasn't romantic interest, maybe there was another factor that I wasn't seeing, but my family wasn't exceptionally wealthy and well-connected, like the Goths. So what was it? Maybe I'll think of it later.

The final bell rang and we all ran out of our last class of the day. I had the School Newspaper to work on. I had just entered the computer lab where the School Newspaper was held, when I saw that all the other students were huddled around a single computer.

"What are you guys looking at?" I asked, walking over to the computer.

"It's Boinky! He's all over the web!" a student, Malcolm Landgraab, proclaimed.

I leaned over the rest of the students to see the computer, and sure enough, it was an internet article on a rising Magician, Boinky the Resolute. The article read:

Boinky the Resolute, a young, mysterious rising Magician who stunned the crowds at this week's Starlight Shore Simfest, taking home first place. Boinky's killer performance included him turning into a live, talking rag doll. He was definitely a hit with the kids, since he allowed the kids to play with him while he was in his toy form. Hopefully we'll see more of this hit new magician, as he's scheduled to perform at Starlight Shore's Performance Park every Tuesday. 

"Isn't that cool?" Malcolm asked, looking at the image of Boinky performing on the stage.

"Yeah, it is." I replied, mumbling.

I left the group of fascinated students and went to go sit at another computer. Boinky must be having a great time at Starlight Shores. I actually felt a tinge of jealousy, he was famous. He had created his own career, and he was great at it. Starlight Shores is so far away, and why would a big-time Magician come to a small town like Sunset Valley anyway? The real question was, would I ever see him again?


	8. Principal Wright

Week 2, Day 19 Thursday

When I arrived at school, I noticed the Prom Committee was already putting up the decorations for tonight's Prom. I found Bella outside, hanging up some colorful streamers. I tried waving hello to her, but she just looked away. I guess she was still angry. I sighed, and continued walking to my class. Why was Bella still angry anyway? It wasn't my fault that Mortimer asked me instead of her, and she knows I wished he hadn't. I opened my locker and looked into the mirror attached to the side of my locker. In the mirror's reflection, I saw not only my own face, but Mortimer's as well. I turned around to see he had been standing behind me.

"Hey Cindy." Mortimer greeted, rather shyly.

"Oh, hi Mortimer." I replied.

We both stood in place, mostly eyeing the floor. I don't know how much time passed before Mortimer restarted the conversation.

"So you're going to Prom with Percy tonight?" Mortimer asked.

"Yeah, um, have you gotten a date?" I asked, somewhat awkwardly.

"I gotten a couple of offers, but none of them seemed to be right, you know?" Mortimer shrugged.

A couple of offers?

"Oh, I see. Well, what about Bella?" I asked.

"Oh, Bella? Um, well, I heard, she's, uh, sorta busy tonight, so, she, um, can't go to Prom." Mortimer stuttered.

"Oh really? Because I thought that you would ask her instead of, you know…" I replied, hating how awkward this conversation was.

"Hey, Cindy, who are you…" It was Percy, who had come running out of the crowd and just noticed Mortimer.

"What are you doing here?" Percy asked Mortimer, stepping closer to him.

Mortimer didn't look frightened, and took a step towards Percy.

"I was just talking to Cindy, but I see you obviously feel threatened by me." Mortimer verbally jabbed at him.

"Hey, how about you just step away from her, and we'll forget this ever happened?" Percy suggested.

"Sorry Keaton, I afraid that's not gonna happen." Mortimer taunted, standing his ground.

By now, a large crowd had gathered around Percy and Mortimer, waiting to see what would happen next.

Percy stood up straight, and punched Mortimer right in the face. There was a gasp from the crowd as Mortimer stumbled back. He tried disappearing into the crowd, but some of the kids pushed him back into the ring. Mortimer, not being much of a fighter, shielded his face as Percy threw another punch towards him. But before he could land his punch, another hand shielded Mortimer's face and took hold of Percy's hand.

"Boys, I think that's quite enough." Principal Wright declared, his soft but commanding voice ringing through the hallways.

The two boys separated, and the crowd began to disperse.

"Now, tell me what went wrong here." Principal Wright asked, firmly holding the two boys by their shoulders so they couldn't escape.

By now, everyone had left the scene except for me. Principal Wright turned to me.

"Ah, now I see. You two were fighting over her." he laughed, and set the two boys down.

"Alright then, I leave you two off with a warning, but if I catch you fighting again, there will be punishment. As for you Cindy, would you please meet me in my office at lunch?" he asked, and walked away, hands folded behind his back.

Mortimer, Percy and I walked to our classes, the boys glaring at each other the whole way. Principal Wright asked me to meet him in his office, but why? Why not have the guys meet for some sort of restorative circle? I wonder, was there more to Principal Wright than what meets the eye? As well as being principal of both the elementary and high school, he was also known as Mayor Wright, Chief of Police, the owner of Mega Corp, a celebrated Scientist, Stylist, Architect, Inventor, Chef, and lover of llamas. Nobody ever questioned him, but now I'm starting to wonder, how could Principal Wright have achieved all of these things? He didn't seem any older than sixty days old, but how could you reach the top of every career possible in just sixty days? It didn't seem right to me, but then again, Mr. Wright was an amazing man, why should it be a surprise if he is an expert in, well, everything?

I stepped into Mr. Wright's office during lunch. His room had light blue walls, with memorabilia hung all over the walls and on the tables. She noticed a trophy case of his near his desk. In it contained a couple of Simmy Awards, a high school valedictorian ribbon, a crown for Prom King, and the most interesting of all, a small, black control box that I couldn't make heads or tails of. It's light was blinking red and I was about to open the case when I heard the door open. I rushed to the front of the office to see Principal Wright, with his lunch in his hand.

"Hello Cindy, would you please have a seat?" Principal Wright asked, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.

I sat down as he sat in his own office chair.

"So, being fought over by two young men is, shall we say, confusing? Am I right?" Principal Wright asked.

"Well, yeah. I guess." I replied.

"Teenage years are suppose to be confusing. They're there to help you learn a lot about who you are, and what you'll age up to be." Principal Wright explained, opening up his desk drawer.

"But sometimes, something in a young one's life may try to change that path." Principal Wright's voice suddenly became deeper, and somewhat malicious.

He reached his hand into his desk drawer and pulled out the book Mom had taken from me.

"Your mother was so kind enough to inform me about your late night reading. So, what did you think?" he asked, raising the book up.

I was token a back, looking at the book. How could, why would Mom give the book to Principal Wright? Unless he already knew she had taken the book from me and asked for it, there wouldn't be any visible reason for her to give it to him. Then again, it was weird how I somehow stumbled on the book at the first place. Maybe he'd placed it there so that I'd intentionally find it.

"It, was, weird." I stated, unable to find a better word to describe the book.

"Did you try anything mentioned in the book?" Principal Wright asked, flipping open the book and examining a random page.

"Yes, actually. I opened and closed a door with my own hands." I told him.

His eyes were instantly taken from the book to me, a look of surprise on his face. He then closed the book and put it back into his desk.

"Very well then. I don't advise you try anything else mentioned in this book. You may go." he said, sitting back.

"But, why can't I try anything mentioned in the book?" I asked, curious, since there didn't seem to be anything wrong opening a door.

"Well you see, it could confuse your PlumbBob, because think about it. The PlumbBob wasn't invented to be disobeyed, now was it?" Principal Wright asked, leaning in a little too close to me in the process.

I quietly backed out of his office, not saying another word.

"Have a good day, Cindy." Principal Wright called, as the door to his office closed in front of me, on it's own.

Quick Question (I will be asking a Quick Question for each new chapter I post for your feedback. ) : What do you think of Mr. Wright? Do you feel like he's too much of a Gary-Sue? Do you understand the reference to the person he is named after?


	9. The Tragic Clown

I opened the door to my house. I had a couple of hours before Prom to do my homework and get ready, so I wasn't really in a rush to start preparing. I figured I could start getting ready after I finished my homework, so I took my homework out of my inventory, plopped myself down at the dining room table and started working. I was halfway through my math problems when Mom came home from running errands. She looked more cheerful than she had in days, as she opened up the fridge and began stocking it with whatever she had bought at the grocery store. But then I thought, had she really given the book to Principal Wright? Or had he somehow gotten it through other means? Maybe that wasn't my book at all, maybe it was a different copy of the book, but then how would he know I had it in the first place? I didn't dare ask Mom about it, so I simply continued working on my homework as she finished putting away the groceries.

"Cindy, could you be a dear and get the mail for me?" Mom asked, sorting all the tomatoes and heads of lettuce she'd bought.

"Ok." I replied, and got up from my chair.

I walked out the front door to the mailbox, and retrieved the mail from it. While sifting through the bills and a new copy of my latest book, I noticed a small piece of parchment sticking out of the small pile of bills. I picked it out, and unfolded it. On it was inscribed a note:

_I see you've opened a door by yourself, well done! But before you rejoice, I must warn you, all actions have consequences. If you wish to continue, go and find the surprise I left for you in the backyard, there, you'll find your next clue._

_-Tragic Clown_

After pocketing the note, and hastily put the bills on the dining room table I collected my homework.

"And just where are you going in such a hurry?" Mom asked, in a cheery voice.

"Oh, I'm just going to finish my homework outside." I told her, being half true.

I quickly walked to the backyard, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Since we'd moved in, Dad has had a wooden fence built around the property, which meant that whatever the Tragic Clown had hidden was within the fence's limits. I searched around the green grass that covered our backyard, but I couldn't find anything unusual. Maybe it wasn't the Tragic Clown who'd sent this after all, maybe it was just some stupid prank. I began walking towards the house when a tripped over a large rock. I stumbled and fell to the grass and dirt below. I picked myself up, and realized I now had mud all over my green jacket and pink skirt. I turned around to see what I had tripped on, and I realized, it wasn't a rock at all. It was a garden gnome, with a pointy red hat and blue coat. My blue shoes had made a scratch on the side of it's face, but otherwise it was perfectly intact. I picked up the peculiar gnome, I'd never seen it in the yard before, this must be the item the Tragic Clown left for me! I noticed on the bottom was etched: Mysterious Mr. Gnome into the soles of it's feet.

"I think I'll call you Buddy." I told the gnome, as I put him away into my inventory.

Now that I had the item, what would I do with it? What could I do with a simple garden gnome? I checked the clock and realized that I didn't have time to figure that out, Prom was in two hours! I rushed down the hallway to the bathroom and opened the door only to discover that Tommy had locked the door.

"Tommy! Let me in, I have to shower!" I called, pounding on the door.

"Sorry Cindy, I just got into the shower, you'll have to wait!" Tommy told her, obviously not willing to give up his shower.

"But Prom is in a couple of hours! I need to shower now!" I yelled at the bathroom door.

"Sorry, but you're just gonna have to wait." Tommy shouted back.

I sighed, and stomped back to my room. I guess while I waited for Tommy to finish showering I could prep for Prom. In my room, I went over to my dresser and opened it up. The dresser itself was full of clothes I've never worn, but under all of that, was a small button I that pressed. My PlumbBob beeped and a bright green light exploded from it, and I was whisked away to my dressing room. It had a stand for me to, well stand on, and a full-view mirror. I got up onto the stand and the closet immediately starting showing all different types of clothes. I switched from casual clothes to formal clothes, and the selection of clothes changed completely. Instead of shirts and sneakers, there were dresses and heels. I found a wonderful blue dress from the Generations collection and some matching heels. I exited my dressing room and returned to my room. I put my clothes in my inventory just in time to hear the bathroom door open. Tommy must be finished showering, I thought. I went over to the bathroom, and in front of me, was Tommy, in a full formal suit.

"What's with the suit? You're not thinking of going to Prom too!" I realized, seeing Tommy in a suit.

"Well, yeah! I say, if you're going to Prom, then why can't I?" Tommy asked, smiling joyfully.

"Do you even have a date?" I asked him.

Tommy's smile faded.

"Um, well no, but that doesn't mean I can't go to Prom anyway!" he replied, his smile returning.

Even now that he's older, Tommy just never seems to lose that energy. He probably got it from Dad. I laughed, and stepped into the bathroom. After taking a nice, relaxing shower, I changed into my dress and put on my makeup. I carefully began applying my lipstick on, when the door suddenly swung open.

"Cindy, your date's here!" Mom cried at the top of her lungs.

The sudden burst surprised me so much that I turned around swiftly, causing my lipstick to be smeared into a long slash across my face.

"Mom, you don't need to be so excited." I told her, taking a napkin and rubbing the smeared lipstick off my face.

"I wouldn't be, if you had told me you had a date!" she explained merrily.

I looked at her in disbelief. Mom was usually pretty calm, well except for that one time, but I've never seen her so, happy. Hmm, I guess I forgot to tell her I had a date…

I finished putting on my makeup and headed out to the dining room. Standing by the doorway, talking to Dad and Tommy, was Percy, in a suit similar to Tommy's.

"There you are! Let's go, Prom starts in half an hour." Percy said, gesturing to his watch.

"Hold on, I want to take a picture of all three of you before you leave." Dad said, pulling out his cell phone.

"All three of us?" Percy asked, looking around.

"He means me too! You think I dressed like this because I felt like it?" Tommy asked, once again gesturing to his suit.

"Ops, sorry man." Percy apologized, rubbing his head.

Percy, Tommy, and I posed in front of Dad's cell phone for a regular photo, and then for a funny photo, in which Tommy's funny pose required him to stand on only one foot, and he ended up falling on all of us.

"Alright. Now get going you guys, or you're gonna be late!" Dad said, putting away his cell phone.

Percy, Tommy, and I nearly raced each other to the limousine the school provided us to ride to Prom in. We all crowded into the limo, and waved goodbye to Mom and Dad as the limo drove away. Because of their height, Percy and Tommy had to bend down just so they could fit into the limo. The ride was quiet, but when we pulled up to the school, conversation started to pick up again.

"Looks like we're just on time." Percy noticed, looking at all the other students arriving in their limos and walking out to the school's entrance.

We all got out of the limo, thanked the driver and ran up to the school's entrance. The doors were just opening as we ran up the stone steps. Students starting flooding into the building. The dance would be in the gym, so all of the students were heading in that direction. Tommy split off from Percy and I, saying something about getting some food. That left Percy and I to walk to the gym. I kept an eye out for Mortimer or Bella, seeing as I hadn't seen them yet. I wonder if Bella or Mortimer ever got a date? Looks like they're not here yet, I thought as we arrived at the gym.

"Hey, it looks like nobody's dancing yet. How about I get us something to eat?" Percy asked, eyeing the empty dance floor.

"Alright." I replied.

Percy left to go get food while I waited on the sides. I then spotted Bella, she was in a beautiful red dress that grazed her knees. Her black hair was down and a matching red flower adorned her hair. She looked stunning, but I realized that she was alone. She was wandering through the crowd, all by herself. I walked over to her.

"Hey Bella." I greeted, rather softly.

Bella turned around and faced me.

"Oh, hi." she said, growling.

"You liking Prom?" I asked her.

"Well, I am on the Prom Committee right? So I kinda have to like it." she replied, lowering her guard only slightly.

"Hey, so did you ever get a date?" I asked, a little awkwardly.

"Mm, no." she confessed, looking down.

"Hey, that's totally fine, you know? Now you can dance with whoever you want!" I reassured her.

Bella smiled at me. I smiled back. I then saw Percy approaching us with two slices of pizza.

"Oh, hi Bella. I didn't realize I needed to grab three slices of pizza." he joked, handing a slice to me.

"Do you want my slice?" I asked, offering my pizza.

"Oh, no thanks. I'll go get my own." she said, and disappeared into the crowd.

I looked at Percy.

"So, you guys are friends again?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, I guess we are." I agreed.


	10. Prom

People were finally starting to go on the dance floor. Percy and I perused around the crowds of people until we were finally able to find a place on the floor to dance. Percy wasn't the greatest dancer, and ended up slipping into the punch bowl head first and spilled punch all over himself and I.

"Percy, are you ok?!" I asked, pulling his head out of the bowl.

"Yeah, but I'm soiled, could you help me to the bathroom?" Percy asked, looking at his suit, now covered in punch.

"Ok, I think I could use a little cleaning myself." I replied, looking at the punch spilled on my dress.

"Mm, good punch." Percy commented, getting a couple of laughs from some of the other students.

Percy and I went out of the gym to the restroom. I separated from Percy to go to the girl's restroom. I turned on the sink and splashed water on my face. With some paper towels I was able to dab off most of the punch that had stained my dress. But now I had abnormal red splotches all over my blue dress. I sighed as I turned the sink off, but then I noticed something. My inventory was open! I didn't remember opening it, so I took a quick look inside, and sure enough, Buddy the Mysterious Mr. Gnome was gone. He must have fallen out, I thought. But then I saw the little, wet footprints that lead out of the restroom. You've got to be kidding me, I thought, and started following them. The tiny footprints lead out of the bathroom, and down the hall to of course, Principal Wright's office. The door was open just enough for the little guy to squeeze himself in. I opened the door and followed the footprints into Principal Wright's office. The footprints passed his large glass case. The mysterious black box was blinking red, as usual. I wondered, what the box was used for. I opened the case and took the black box out. I looked behind me to make sure nobody was watching. Then I set the box down on Principal Wright's desk. That's when I realized that the mechanical box was locked, and required some sort of key. Disappointed, I put the box back in place and moved on to tracking down Buddy the Mysterious Mr. Gnome. The footprints finally ended at a little mini fridge at the back of Principal Wright's office. I looked behind the fridge, and when I didn't see a gnome or a hole for a gnome to fit in, I knew there was no where else the gnome could be. I opened the mini fridge, and there was not one, but two Mysterious Mr. Gnomes. Buddy, who I could only tell apart from his new friend by the scratch on his face I accidentally gave him, was sitting next to his new friend, in the fridge. He and his new friend were staring at each other contently. I guess this was what Buddy was after, another Mysterious Mr. Gnome. I took the two gnomes and put them in my inventory. That was when the door creaked open. I scrambled around, trying to find someplace to hide, or another exit. Even though there was a perfect closet to hide in, on instinct, I dived under his desk. I cursed myself when I saw the closet I could've hidden in. Principal Wright entered his office and went over to his closet, opened it and hung up with coat. It was a good thing I didn't hide in there after all, I thought to myself. Principal Wright went over to his glass case and took out the black box. My stomach tightened, what if he realizes that someone, meaning me, was trying to open the box?! Come on, I'm just being paranoid, right? Principal Wright dug into his pocket, probably for the key to the box, finally I get to see what that thing does.

"Damn it! The key's gone!" Principal Wright shouted in frustration.

He doesn't have the key either? Then who did? Did he really lose it? Or was it stolen?

"I can not lose that key! Where is it?!" Principal Wright grunted, going over to his desk.

I pushed myself back as far as I could, so Principal Wright couldn't see me unless he actually looked under his desk. He violently went through his drawers, throwing out the contents one by one. I'd never seen Principal Wright like this, he was always so calm and collected, now he was rampaging through his own office. After going through all of his drawers and finding nothing, Principal Wright frustratingly kicked his office desk before storming out of the room. The desk jolted as he kicked it and hit me in the head. I clenched onto my noggin tightly as he left his office. Once he was gone, I stood up from my hiding place. The once neat office was now strewn with papers, books and other miscellaneous objects. I waded through the sea of stuff and managed to open the door without having all of his things flood through it. I quietly shut the door and raced to the cafeteria. There, on the stage built for Prom, Principal Wright was holding the microphone and was making a very important announcement.

"I'm sure you have all been wondering about who will be titled Prom King and Prom Queen. Well, we're glad to announce that the results are in." Principal Wright announced.

Prom King and Prom Queen?! I'd totally forgotten about that! I didn't even vote! I wonder who got nominated? Just then, Principal Wright was handed two white cards.

"And the winners are…"


	11. Prom Queen and King

"First, our Prom Queen." Principal Wright began to the absolutely silent audience. "And our Prom Queen is, Bella Bachelor!".

The crowd of students cheered as Bella proudly walked up onstage and accepted her Prom Queen crown.

"Thank you all, so much." Bella called to the cheering audience.

"And now for our Prom King." Principal Wright began.

"I bet it's going to be Mortimer." Percy guessed.

I really should have taken a look at all the candidates, I don't even know who got nominated. It was kind of obvious that Bella would win Prom Queen, she was just so pretty and popular. And it would also make sense if Mortimer or Malcolm got voted Prom King. But they do vote on Prom King and Queen separately…

"Our Prom King is, Tommy Heroor!" Principal Wright announced.

The crowd burst into a throng of noise. It seemed like the room was split over if they'd selected the right person. Some people were cheering and clapping for Tommy. Others were booing, yelling, and calling it a cheat. Tommy walked up onto the stage to accept his crown, when someone from the crowd took the punchbowl and hurled it's contents onto the stage. Tommy and Bella ducked, and most of the punch hit Principal Wright, soaking him in red juice. There was a gasp from everyone in the room, and all eyes turned to Principal Wright. He simply took his finger to his lips and tasted the punch.

"Mm, cherry." he commented.

Everyone laughed, even Tommy and Bella, and Tommy took his crown and Prom ended peacefully. After Bella and Tommy took their picture together, they both made their way over to the limos that would pick everyone up.

"Thank you everyone for such a lovely Prom! Start heading home immediately because curfew starts in an hour! The police will arrest anyone who's still on campus!" Principal Wright warned as the students began leaving.

Bella decided to ride in our limo with us, and we all piled in.

"I didn't know you were nominated for Prom King!" I told Tommy, who was admiring his Prom King crown.

"They mail the nominees announcing that they got nominated. The main reason I went to Prom because I was hoping I could actually win." he admitted.

"Well it's great that you won, only being five days into high school." Bella remarked.

"I had no idea I was so popular." Tommy admitted.

"Are you kidding me? The guys from the Study Club love you! I bet they're the ones who got you nominated in the first place!" Percy assured Tommy, patting him on the back.

"Thanks man." Tommy replied, in a very boyish way.

"I thought only couples could get nominated for Prom King and Queen." I admitted, remembering Prom Kings and Queens from the past, who's pictures hung around the school hallways.

"That's what I thought too, but in fact, the Prom King and Queen don't even need a date!" Tommy explained, looking quite ecstatic.

We arrived at Percy's house. Before he got out of the car, he turned to me. Staring intently, we gazed into each other's eyes. Then, before either of us could say anything, Percy plunged in and kissed me square in the lips. It only lasted for a second, but somewhere, somehow, I heard the distant sound of triumphant music. Then Percy pulled back and madly dashed out of the limousine and into his house, leaving a trail of smoke behind him. My cheeks burned red, and I pushed myself back in my seat. I felt like I was flying, when I was hardly moving at all.

"What a nice way to end Prom." Tommy commented, then turned hopingly to Bella.

"Don't even think about." she sassed him.


	12. Learning to Drive

Friday Week 3, Day 21

Graduation. It was already here. I'd just turned in my final homework assignment, and the ceremony's tomorrow. I was emptying my locker, putting all my books, including Demand Excellence or You'll Get Mediocrity that my teacher had me read at the beginning of the year, into a bag. I also had a separate bag for all my other stuff, scraped newspaper articles, and other miscellaneous papers. The school custodian had a large recycle bin at the school's entrance for the kids to dump out all of their unwanted papers. I went over to the recycle bin to dump out all my papers, when I looked up from the heap of white paper to see Percy. We both smiled upon seeing each other, and headed out of the school together.

"Wanna go to Hogan's?" Percy asked, as we walked down the school steps.

"Not today, I need to go home and work on my book." I told him.

"Really? What are you working on?" Percy asked, as we started walking down the concrete street.

I blushed. "Well, it was suppose to be a surprise, but…"

"Is it about me? Because that would be really cool." Percy thought aloud.

"Actually is about you. But not like, your life. It's about a character that's just like you. It's called Percy Keaton and the Lightning Thief." I confessed, really embarrassed to have told him.

"Really? That sounds awesome!" Percy replied, ecstatically.

"That's good to hear, once it's done I'll give you the complementary copy." I promised him.

"Cool!" he replied, and we Friendly Hugged.

I got home to see Dad by the door.

"How's my graduate doing?" he asked, holding something in his hand.

"Good. What're you holding?" I asked, putting my backpack down.

"Just a small graduation gift." he replied, opening up his hand. In his hand was a small key. "It's in the garage." he told me, tossing the key.

I ran over to the garage, another recent addition to the house. The garage was mostly a clutter of stuff we're too lazy to send to the family storage. But at the very end of the garage, right where the garage door was, should've been Dad's Big Lemon. Instead, there were two cars.

"You got me a car!" I shouted, jumping up and down.

"Yep, I know it's not the most expensive choice. But I took a few extra Opportunities to pull together enough money." Dad explained.

I stared in awe at my brand new Yomoshoto Evasion. It was the standard black, which was fine by me, since really, who wants a bright pink car anyway? It was an expensive car too, reaching nine thousand eight hundred Simoleons, if he bought it directly from Buy Mode. I felt guilty, since my car was way more expensive than his Big Lemon, which was like eight times less expensive. Then I realized something.

"Dad, I can't drive yet." I stated, cringing.

"I know. I've been putting off teaching you, using work as an excuse. And your mother, well, she's been going through some tough times. So I'm putting aside all of my Opportunities this weekend to teach you how to drive." he explained.

"Alright, then let's get started!" I said, already getting into the car.

I breathed in the New Car Smell people were always talking about, and they were right, it smells like new car. I wasn't use to being in the front seat and have Dad be in the passenger seat. Usually it was the other way around.

"What about Tommy? Shouldn't you teach him to drive too?" I asked, as Dad was teaching me how to start up the car.

"Oh, no. Tommy has the Eco-Friendly trait, so he'll be happy with his bike." Dad explained.

"I didn't know Tommy had the Eco-Friendly trait." I told him, as the garage door opened.

"I didn't know either, until he told Mom that he'd only eat organic cereal." Dad explained.

"You guys bought organic cereal? No wonder it was so expensive." I joked, remembering the price tag on the cereal.

We started slowly down the road that headed towards the center of town, going slowly so Dad could point out all the rules of driving, although it's actually really simple.

"In Old Country, there're these things called stop lights and speed limits. It meant that at a certain point at a street, you had to stop, where's here, we have such a small town population that there's really no need for it." Dad explained.

"How big is Sunset Valley anyway?" I asked, as we turned the corner to the road near City Hall.

"Um, I think since the last family moved in, the population is about ninety or so." Dad estimated.

We were just turning the road near the spa, when another car was driving behind us, much faster than were. As it approached us, it wasn't slowly down by a bit.

"Dad, that car behind us isn't slowing down…" I commented, looking at the rearview mirror.

"Oh, don't worry. We'll be fine, you'll see." Dad replied, leaning back in his chair.

I gripped the wheel as I watched the car speed closer, and closer. My hands became sweaty as the car came mere feet away from us. That car was going to crash into us, I was certain. It was a Margaret Vaguester, a much faster and more powerful car than mine.

"Dad, he's going to hit us!" I screamed, shutting me eyes tight.

The car came straight towards us, not faltering a bit, he zoomed straight through our car. I opened my eyes as the car zipped away. I checked everything around me. The car seemed completely fine, as if another car hadn't zoomed right through it.

"See Cindy? Everything's alright. Car's are built with the ability to go through other cars." Dad explained.

I was furious, but at the same time I was laughing.

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" I asked.

"Because it's funny!" Dad told me who was also laughing. "But I think that's enough learning for today. Go on and bring her on home.".

I turned the car around when I noticed a spec of white in my rearview mirror. Then I realized it was Dad! And it wasn't just a spec, it was his whole head!

"Dad, look at your hair! You're an Elder!" I cried.

Dad checked his face in the rearview mirror. He smoothed his hair out a bit, with absolutely no look of surprise on his face.

"Well, what do you know? I am." he said.

Just as we parked in the garage, Dad had him and I sit on some extra lawn chairs in the basement for a serious talk.

"Now Cindy, now that I'm in my Elder stage of life, I fear that I will not live much longer." he began.

Before I could object, he stopped me.

"No, no, don't worry about me. I'm not afraid to go, I've had a very satisfying life." he explained, but I still didn't like where this conversation was going.

"As for your mother, I want you to promise me you'll take care of her. After I go, you'll be the only working family member, and I'd hate to see the house and our stuff go to some Repo-man." he told me.

"Of course, wouldn't want to lose your gem collection." I joked.

He didn't laugh.

"One more thing, I want you to have something." he said, reaching for his inventory. Out of his inventory, he pulled out a vial of light pink liquid. "We can only afford to make one, so use it well." he told me.

"What is it?" I asked.

He looked me in the eye. "Young Again potion.".


	13. Graduation

"A Young Again potion?! You're giving this to me?! Why not just use it on yourself?" I asked him, examining the bottle full of light pink liquid.

"No Cindy, I don't need this, I don't need to live two adulthoods. One is more than enough." Dad told me.

He handed me the potion and refused to take it back. I put the potion in my inventory, but why would Dad give it to me? And right after he saw his gray hair. If that was me, I'd have chugged the potion down. Maybe it's just him getting old.

Saturday Week 3, Day 22

My graduation gown was black with a blue sash. It actually fit pretty well, but how that cap can stay on head is a mystery to me. I was on the front porch, waiting for the rest of the family to get ready. How long does it take to plan an outfit anyway, I thought to myself. I then noticed Buddy the Mysterious Mr. Gnome and his friend, but something wasn't right. There was another red cap sticking out from behind Buddy. I walked over to have a better look, and sure enough, there's another, smaller Mysterious Mr. Gnome, who was hiding behind his father, or mother? I don't know, but it was certainly clear that they were his/her parents. I picked up the new addition to the Mysterious Mr. Gnome family, and checked it's feet.

"Mysterious Mr. Gnome, huh? Your parents aren't very original with names are they?" I asked him/her.

"Cindy, come on, you're going to be late for your own graduation!" Dad called out from the car.

I put down Mysterious Mr. Gnome Jr. and ran over to the car. The whole family carpooled to City Hall where all of the other students were driving to as well. All the students and families were chatting on the steps of City Hall, waiting for the ceremony to begin. While Mom and Dad were talking with some of the parents, I was with Bella and Mortimer. Ever since Prom, they haven't spoken to each other. They avoided eye contact while I kept up most of the conversation.

"So guys, what's your plans for after high school?" I asked.

Bella began, "Gee, I honestly haven't really thou…"

"I'm going to go and join the Science Career at the Landgraab Industries Science Facility." Mortimer interrupted her.

Bella sneered at him.

"Well, so am I!" she declared, crossing her arms.

"Bella, are you sure you want to? I always thought you were more of an Artistic Sim than a Genius or Green Thumb Sim." I told her.

"What, I like science! Especially aliens, they're so cool!" Bella confessed.

Mortimer just rolled his eyes. He knew Bella would never last in the Science Career, even as a Test Subject.

"Alright students! It's time to head on in, the ceremony's about to begin." Mr. Wright announced, gesturing everyone to come inside.

All the students filed into City Hall, with Pomp and Circumstance being played by the theater's band (since the school couldn't afford anything better). The students all sat in the front, and the band had to play through the song at least three times before everyone was seated. Then Mr. Wright came up onto the stage. I looked around my graduating peers, and noticed Percy sitting a couple chairs down. I then noticed something appear in my action queue right after "Attend Graduation Ceremony". It told me to break up with Percy. ABSOLUTELY NOT! Percy and I were working out so well, why break up now? No, there was no way I was going to break up with Percy, no, no, no! I cancelled out the action, but it quickly reappeared in my action queue. I began sweating, and my breathing became heavy. Bella, who was sitting next to me, looked over at me.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"I, I'm…fine. J, just, n, n, nervous." I chattered, taking in the force of the action attempting to engrave itself into my action queue.

Bella nodded and turned back to the stage, where Mr. Wright was giving a speech that under any other circumstances, would have been interesting and engrossing. But right now, I was far too busy staving off the action to BREAK UP WITH PERCY KEATON. Then I saw something that completely caught me off guard, even I stopped what I was doing. On Mr. Wright's podium, lay a black box. The same black box that was in the glass case in Mr. Wright's office!

"You may have seen this box in my office. Some of you have even asked what's inside." Mr. Wright began. "Many of the parents here know that as tradition, I show the contents of this box to every graduating class.".

I was finally going to figure out what was inside the black box?! No way, but what was in there that made it so important?

"Well, I hate to keep you students waiting, so I'll just get to the fun part." Mr. Wright told them, and opened up the black box.


	14. The Controller

My hands shook as I tried to regain control over the action queue. At the same time I looked up at the stage where Mr. Wright was. He took out a small brass key, similar to the one you get as the "Key to the City" awards. He placed the key into the keyhole that I'd seen on the box earlier. He twisted it clockwise once, and then opened the box. Whatever was in there was large enough for him to hold with both hands, and seemed to cover almost the whole box. With both hands, Mr. Wright revealed a flat, blue gadget. On one side it was circular, with multiple controls on its circular side. Next to its circular part was a frame, that was constantly showing and changing faces and name. I swear the faces that were constantly appearing on the screen were residents of Sunset Valley. The part next to it seemed to be a sliding panel, which could be slid back into the rest of the device and come out with a completely different layout. The entire contraption was covered in an endless variety of buttons and gadgets, all of which seemed to be pressed at one point or another by the machine itself, or by some invisible force.

"This is the meaning of our existence. This device is called the Controller. It controls our PlumbBobs." He informed us, pulling out the retractable part of the device on its right side.

There were ohs and ahs from the students. They couldn't believe that their existence was centered around one machine. Too bad that very same machine was trying to get me to break up with my boyfriend. Obviously nobody noticed because Mr. Wright continued. "This little thing here controls everything. It knows what you and I are thinking at this very minute. It also knows what will happen to you. It knows your future, all of it. What your career or profession will be, where you'll move, who you'll marry.".

The students seemed to have mixed feelings about the blue gadget. Some were simply fascinated, astounded that their entire existence depended on this little machine. Even as Mr. Wright held the Controller in his hand, the gadget seemed to be constantly at work, as the many buttons on the gadget pushed in and out as if they were being pressed. Others were disgusted, in disbelief that their chooses were in fact not their own.

"I show the Controller to every graduating high school class. Many of your parents first saw this thing when they were graduating high school. But why show it now? You see, we're not so sure you can quite grasp the fact when you're young that your future has in some way, already been decided. But not to worry, your PlumbBob always take your opinion into account, why, you've been suggesting things for your Wish Box even since you were children!" Mr. Wright explained.

That was true, but the rebellious Sims were not having any of it, standing up, screaming into the sky, and holding their hands on their heads.

"I see that some of you are still not old enough to grasp it." Mr. Wright commented on the rambunctious students.

Mr. Wright punched a couple of buttons on the Controller, and one by one, the rebellious students began sitting down. They closed their mouths and were absolutely still, as if they were performing the Human Statue trick. Each one would freeze for a minute, then stand up straight, and sit down all in the exact same manner.

"See? The Controller can do anything, its power is limitless. But don't fear the Controller children. The Controller has your best interests in mind, and will drive you to be the very best that you can be." Mr. Wright explained.

The students were mostly shocked, but I noticed, some were clapping. And hey, Bella was clapping too. Wait, why am I clapping? Hang on, is the Controller making us clap for him? This was insane, so this was what Mr. Wright was hiding in the black box. I then felt a strong pull. The action queue had turned into dumping Percy again! I battled with the action queue to get it to stop, but it just wouldn't quit. Once the ceremony is over, I need to get out of here, or at least avoid Percy. Once the awards ceremony were finished, all the students received their diplomas and ran out throwing their caps into the air. I felt the PlumbBob trying to gain control, but before it could reach my legs, I dashed to my car and drove off. I speeded all the way to the house and ran inside. I was just able to lock my bedroom door as the PlumbBob took total control. Ok, as long as I stuck in my room, I can't do anything that'll damage our relationship.

"Cindy, what are you doing in your room?" Mom asked, knocking on the door.

"Nothing Mom." my voice replied.

I wanted to cry, to tell her everything. About the PlumbBob, about the notes from the Tragic Clown, and about how I can't see Percy because my PlumbBob is trying to make me break up with him. But as usual, I couldn't.

"Well, Percy is here to see you." Mom told me.

Oh gosh, Percy's here? No, no, no this can't be happening now. Why now? I wanted to do something, I wanted to run away, to somewhere where he couldn't find me. But all I could do was nonchalantly say, "Ok Mom.". I saw myself unlock the door and walk across the hallway to the living room.

There, Percy and my family were waiting for me. Percy had something hidden behind his back, a cheerful smile on his face. My father and brother were there too, strangely sharing the exact same smile on their faces.

"Hey Cindy." Percy greeted, his giddy smile failing to wane.

"Hi Percy." I heard myself reply.

"I brought you some flowers." he told me, revealing that the thing hiding behind his back was a bouquet of Romantic Red Roses.

"Why, thank you Percy." I heard myself reply, still not straying from my robotic monotone voice. I accepted the flowers, but I noticed that he was still hiding something behind his back.

"Percy, there is something I must discuss with you." my robotic voice told him.

My voice was that of a SimBot's and my eyes were a blank void. How could he not see that something was wrong? Because there's something not quite right about him either, I realized. He was too sedimental, his eyes were too big and his smile was too wide. How could he not have noticed something was wrong? It was I who should have noticed something was wrong. I took a closer look at Percy. Why didn't I notice this sooner? It was like someone had sewn his mouth into a grossly gleeful grin. His eyes were also wider than usual, and he hardly blinked.

"Before you say anything, I have one more thing to ask." Percy interrupted me, his words just a little too separated from each other to be considered normal.

Why does my family ignore our robotic and forced actions? I looked around and to my horror, they're just as robotic as we were. They were standing off to the side, standing completely still. I couldn't quite tell but I'm pretty sure they weren't blinking at all.

"Cindy Heroor," Percy began.

From behind his back he took out a small black box, with something illuminating inside it.

"Will you marry me?" he finished.

Oh gosh, here we go, this is where I fight the Controller. This is where I say yes.

"Percy, I um, you see..." My head hurt fighting the force that was compelling me to say no.

My breathing became faster, but I steadied myself as best as I could. "The truth is Percy is that I...well I simply just...because the matter of fact is that I..." On and on I fought with the invisible force, and I was beginning to grow tried. I need to keep going...

"No." I heard myself say.

Shoot, I've lost control! I struggled to regain at least some control, while I heard myself babble away.

"I can't be with you Percy." I heard myself tell him.

This time, when I tried to fight, I suddenly felt very weird. I, I had to go bathroom. Why now? Why would I suddenly have to go bathroom? Without saying anything, I bolted for the bathroom down the hall and closed the door. I regained control as I sat down. I totally ruined that. He was proposing to me, and I blew it! Why would my PlumbBob want me to break up with Percy anyway? There's nothing wrong with our relationship, why break up? I, I can't believe I just broke up with Percy. Tears rolled down my cheeks as it hit me. I walked out of the bathroom sobbing, and my heart hurt. My family was still in the living room, their faces blank and expressionless.

"Dad…Mom…Tommy?" I asked, hopeful that they'd at least answer.

My father stepped forward once, his eyes blank and distant.

"It was for the best sweetie." he assured me in a sickeningly sweet voice that wasn't even his own.

I knew right away that that comment had not come from him, but from the Controller. I stormed out of the living room and into the bedroom. There, I slammed the door on my own and locked it. Then, as I cried on my bed, it hit me. The Controller was punishing me, for trying to find it's secrets, for trying to break from its control. I saw it all, this wouldn't have happened if it weren't for that damn Tragic Clown! And his stupid gnome friend. I took Buddy out of my inventory and held it firmly in my hand.

"You stupid piece of crap." I sneered at it, and kicked it across the room.

It landed on the other side of my bed, out of my view. I sharp *crack* could be heard as it landed. It's probably broken now, like I care anyway. I jumped back on my bed to scream into my pillow when I saw that where Buddy had landed, his feet had busted open. His feet, still intact, laid next to him. Also, it turns out Buddy seemed to be hollow on the inside, except for something shining where his feet should be. I got out of my bed, and walked over to Buddy. I looked inside Buddy, and there was a small, brass, key. I picked up the key. This was the exact same key that Mr. Wright had used to open the black box that held the Controller! I put the key in my inventory and put Buddy's feet back where they should be. Now that I have the key, what do I do with it? Should I go and try to use it to get the Controller? That was insane, and I'd have absolutely no excuse if I got caught. I guess I could think of it later, I thought. I walked to the backyard where I set Buddy down with his wife and child.

"Thanks for looking out for me." I thanked them.

I then noticed from the backyard a tall, built, dark-skinned man sneaking up to the front door. This could only mean one thing. I cried,

"BURGLAR!"


	15. The Friend Returns

I pulled out my cell phone to call the police. The man stopped in this tracks and noticed me frantically fumbling with my phone. He began walking towards me. Oh no, was he going to fight me, what am I going to do? I was just about to press the buttons on m y cell phone when I got a closer look at the man. Why was his hair, blue? I've never seen someone with blue hair before, wait a minute, I have…

"Boinky!" I cried, nearly dropping my cell phone.

His voice had deepened considerably, but he still spoke in the same gleeful manner. "Cindy, it's great to see you again!" he told me.

We Friendly Hugged each other, and I brought him inside.

"So, how've you been?" he asked, as I opened the backyard door.

I didn't know how to answer. In my sheer shock and surprise, I'd forgotten what had just happened. Some of the sadness returned to me, but somehow the arrival of Boinky has just made everything seem better.

"I'm still living." I told him, trying to avoid his gaze.

"Oh, well, I've been doing well." Boinky perked up, and in turn, I perked up as well.

"Really?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I just graduated from Leformage Arts School, and I'm sure you've heard how my Magician Career is going." He told me.

"Yeah, you're all over the news." I replied.

We stepped into the living room. The entire family was sitting on the couch watching TV, their backs to us.

"Hey Dad, Mom, Tommy, look who's back." I announced.

My whole family turned around to see Boinky. It was apparent that they were no longer under the Controller's control, but there was a look of melancholy in their faces. For a moment, the didn't speak, then Dad put on a smile and said,

"Boinky, it's good to see you're back.".

"Thank you Mr. Heroor. I assume you're doing well?" he asked.

"Yes, we're all doing just fine." Dad replied, in a very polite and impersonal tone.

After finishing greetings with the family, Boinky and I went to our room. I sat down at the bed with him, just like we use to do.

"So, are you here to stay?" I asked, trying to remember where we put his bed after he left.

"Yes, but not here. I've decided to take a break from performing for a bit. Maybe do some local gigs here. So I bought a house here in a new developing area that's just a couple minutes drive away from Sunset Valley." He explained.

"It's fine if you stay with us. Dad even said you're always welcome here right?" I told him.

"Yeah, I know, but…it'd feel wrong staying with you guys. After all, I was the one who walked out." He replied.

I nodded.

"So, tell me the truth, what is going on with you guys? Your family was acting like SimBots, it was just, weird." He confessed.

My lip twitched. Should I tell him? And have him be at risk of suffering just like me? But the reason he left is because he didn't feel like I wasn't telling him enough, that he didn't feel close to me anymore. Isn't that why he left?

"Well…" I began, and suddenly, I just couldn't hold it in anymore. I told him everything, everything. From me finding the key inside Buddy to just breaking up with Percy. I poured it all out into him, and you know what? He didn't seem mad, he didn't tell me that it's my fault and I should have minded my own business. He just nodded, and smiled at the lighter parts. After I was finally done, he spoke,

"You've been doing quite a bit since I left. I should have left you my cell phone number so I could keep up with what was going on." He joked.

I actually laughed. That joke was terrible, but I laughed anyway.

"So, what are you going to do with the key?" he asked.

"I've been asking that to myself ever since I got this thing." I told him.

"I think we should go to Mr. Wright's office and steal the box." He suggested.

"No way, that's crazy! We'll get caught for sure." I told him.

"You're not a Magician, are you?" he asked me.

I wrinkled my eyebrows. Boinky just smiled.

Boinky thought this plan would certainly work. I wasn't as sure. What could a Magician do that would help us anyway? I guess all I could do was wait and see. We arrived at the school just as school began, so nobody would see us. Boinky hoisted me up to open the window in Mr. Wright's office and we went inside. Once there, we immediately went over to "Yeah, I know, but…it'd feel wrong staying with you guys. After all, I was the one who walked out." He replied.

I nodded.

"So, tell me the truth, what is going on with you guys? Your family was acting like SimBots, it was just, weird." He confessed.

My lip twitched. Should I tell him? And have him be at risk of suffering just like me? But the reason he left is because he didn't feel like I wasn't telling him enough, that he didn't feel close to me anymore. Isn't that why he left?

"Well…" I began, and suddenly, I just couldn't hold it in anymore. I told him everything, everything. From me finding the key inside Buddy to just breaking up with Percy. I poured it all out into him, and you know what? He didn't seem mad, he didn't tell me that it's my fault and I should have minded my own business. He just nodded, and smiled at the lighter parts. After I was finally done, he spoke,

"You've been doing quite a bit since I left. I should have left you my cell phone number so I could keep up with what was going on." He joked.

I actually laughed. That joke was terrible, but I laughed anyway.

"So, what are you going to do with the key?" he asked.

"I've been asking that to myself ever since I got this thing." I told him.

"I think we should go to Mr. Wright's office and steal the box." He suggested.

"No way, that's crazy! We'll get caught for sure." I told him.

"You're not a Magician, are you?" he asked me.

I wrinkled my eyebrows. Boinky just smiled.

Boinky thought this plan would certainly work. I wasn't as sure. What could a Magician do that would help us anyway? I guess all I could do was wait and see. We arrived at the school just as school began, so nobody would see us. Boinky hoisted me up to open the window in Mr. Wright's office and we went inside. Once there, we immediately went over to "Good point." Boinky pointed out.

There was suddenly a rattling at the door. Someone was coming in!

"We have to get out now!" I told Boinky in a shouted whisper.

Boinky was suddenly stopped. A polite smile creped across his face. Not now, I thought to myself as I pulled Boinky and I to the closet in Mr. Wright's office. There was no way we were both going to fit under his desk, so this was really the only option. The door opened and I watched from a tiny crack in the closet, a dissembled Mr. Wright stumble into his office. Boinky began to comment on Mr. Wright messily state.

"What's wrong with Mr." was all he could say before I covered his mouth.

Mr. Wright glanced towards our direction, and I sucked up my breath. But he was soon once again preoccupied by his own matters. I let out a sigh of relief, still covering Boinky's mouth. Mr. Wright curved over to his desk, tripping on his own feet along the way. His movements were shaky at best, and once he was finally sitting at his desk, his face was pouring with sweat. It appeared to be as if he was being constantly pushed down by some invisible force. He tipped down his cup of pens and hastily picked up one. Crudely tearing out a piece of paper, he used his pen to scrawl something onto the scrap. He then pushed himself off the chair and stumbled out of his office with the paper.

"What was that?" Boinky asked.

"I think we're not the only ones trying to resist the Controller." I commented.

We got out of the closet and retrieved the Controller. I noticed that it buttons were moving at a faster rate than it had been at graduation. Boinky and I escaped Mr. Wright's office with the Controller. We got into my car and began driving home.

"So, now that we have the Controller, what do we do with it?" Boinky asked.

I paused. I was hoping that at this point the Tragic Clown would have given me another clue, but I haven't heard from him in a while.

"I'll wait for a message from the Tragic Clown." I told him.

"But what if the Tragic Clown doesn't give you a message before Mr. Wright discovers we stole the Controller? He'll probably have the whole Police Station looking for us." Boinky told me.

"I know, but I trust the Tragic Clown. He'll get me a message in time." I reassured him.

We didn't talk for the rest of the ride. I pulled up to the house to discover Mom waiting outside, her expression pale and sickly.

"Cindy, Boinky come inside right now!" she cried, her voice panicked.

I parked the car as quickly as I could. Did Mr. Wright already know we'd stolen the Controller?

"Mom, what's wrong?!" I asked, very concerned, I've never seen my Mom so freaked.

"Just come inside right now!" she said, pulling me and Boinky into the house.


	16. Walled In

We all rushed into the house with Mom. She lead us through the hallway, and I began to hear Tommy yelling close by. There was also a pounding that could be heard.

"Dad, it's going to be alright!" I could hear Tommy say.

Dad, what was wrong with Dad? Did he, he couldn't have…no, I can't think like that. We finally rounded the corner to face a wall. The same wall that signaled the end of the house. But something was different. Tommy was standing there, revealing that the pounding noise was from him, pounding on the wall.

"What's going on?" I asked, Tommy's back turned to us.

Tommy turned around to reveal his face was red with tears, his hands were shaking, and he was hunched over in a way that I'd never seen him. It was like he was mourning.

"Dad, he's, he…" Tommy began, but a drop of snot interrupted him.

I walked up closer to Tommy, pressing my ear against the wall. I could hear something coming from the other side of the wall, but doesn't this wall just lead to the outside of the house? I pressed my ear closer, and I could sort of hear, breathing.

"Dad?" I asked into the wall.

I pressed my ear into the wall once again, and I actually got a response, coming from the other side ofthe wall.

"I'm right here, Cindy." I could hear Dad reply.

Could it be possible? Could Dad really be, trapped inside that wall? But that wasn't possible, how could he, but wait…

I dashed out of the hallway, nearly tripping halfway there. I crashed through the front door and ran out through the lawn, splashing mud all over my shoes. And then I saw how it all could be possible. The wall, where the hallway was suppose to end, was a big, protruding wall. Whoever put it there, hadn't even had the decency to finish it, leaving an obvious, gray, roofless splotch on the side of our house. I'd heard about this happening before, but I never thought it would actually happen to us. Dad was walled in. I solemnly walked back into the house, my feet instantly clearing of mud as I walked back onto the carpet. I started walking back over to the hallway wall, when I saw that Mom was there. She was lying down, her head pressed against the wall.

"I'm so sorry Malcolm. I let this happen to you, I'm so sorry." she whispered into the wall.

"No, no. It happens to everyone one way or another sooner or later." he reassured her.

She sniffled, her tears reflecting on the light before dropping to the floor.

"What are you doing right now?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm just standing around, nothing special. There's nothing in this room, if you can even call it a room. They didn't even bother to put in a roof, so the sun's in my eyes. And also, I really need to go bathroom right now." he told her.

She chuckled, but only for a bit.

"You know, if I could I would get you something. But they won't let us go into Build Mode, or even Buy Mode. I would maybe get you a snack, or a book. I would give you anything…" and with that, she began to weep, and walked out of the room. I sat down on the couch, and took out the Controller. Was this really the price I had to pay for stealing this thing? I took a look at it, and scrolled through the list of Sims until I found Dad, his friendly face smiling in his picture. Despite knowing that was just a picture, I smiled back. I looked at the right-hand screen, which showed his needs. I saw that just like he had said, his bladder need was low. I remembered once that the Controller was able to lower my bladder need even when it was high. Could I possibly make his high? I tried pulling the bladder need up, but it wouldn't budge. I sighed, I didn't know how to work this thing, how was I suppose to do something like that? Suddenly, I heard a *crack* noise come from just outside, I turned and saw that someone had thrown an egg at the window.

"Great." I said to myself, as I put the Controller in my inventory and walked outside. I looked at the window, which was now covered in egg white and yolk. I turned to see that whoever had thrown the egg was now gone. I swear, I'm going to call the cops on the punk who did that, especially with all that's going on. I began cleaning the egg stains when I noticed that something was sticking out of the egg shells. She knelt down and took a closer look. It was piece of paper, and although it was soaked in egg yolk, she could tell it was taped to a piece of shell. She took it off of the shell and unfolded it. It only had a couple of words on it, and they weren't even really words at all. But I knew they held the answer.

_Ctrl+Shift+C testingcheatsenabled true_

_-Tragic Clown_


	17. Tommy's Turn

Cindy's punching something into that weird device of hers. I can't quite see it, but it looks blue. What is she doing? Does she think that device is going to help Dad? Or is she trying to ignore Dad, and bought something to help her. I slowly walked over to her, until I was just peering over her shoulder. The first thing I noticed was that the object had Dad's face on it! What was she doing, could she use that device to save Dad? She slid her finger over to the right hand side of the device. There were six bars, each at a different position in the bar. She took her finger, and slid the smallest bar, the one to the topmost left, all the way up. Suddenly, a noise could be heard from the wall on the other side of the hallway, where Dad was trapped. I ran over to it, and pressed my ear up against the wall.

"Are you ok in there Dad?" I asked.

"I'm fine, better than fine actually, I'm great! I'm not hungry anymore, and I don't have to pee either!" he told me with great enthusiasm.

"That's great Dad!" I told him.

I turned around, to see Cindy sitting on the couch, frantically playing with her device. What was going on? Was she losing control of the device? Or was it something else?

"Boinky, come over here!" she cried.

Boinky rushed over to her, and took a look at the device. So he knew about it too? Who else knew? Am I the only one? I stepped a couple of steps closer. Boinky looked really worried, as did Cindy. Cindy was pulling things on the screen of the device as fast as she could, why was she doing that? What was going on? Suddenly, I could hear noises from the other side of the hallway wall.

"Dad, is something wrong?" I asked.

"I don't know what's going on son! This, this has never happened before!" He exclaimed.

Then suddenly, nothing. I couldn't hear anything coming from the other side of the wall. And then I fell through the wall. I hit the ground with a very painful *thump*. On the ground, I looked straight ahead of me, and saw that the hallway wall was now gone. It'd disappeared, leaving the fake room that Dad was trapped in. The walls and floor were still incomplete, but I could see Dad, also lying on the floor. I scrambled over to Dad, hoping he was alright, but before I could reach him, a figure in a black cloak surrounded by a dark mist appeared first. I stopped in my tracks and gulped, I didn't need to be told who that was. The rest of the family had gathered around my father and the man, as silent and as still as I was. The man, scythe in hand, let out a sigh, almost of disappointment, before pointing at Dad.

"You've met with the fate of death, and now you must leave this world." he said, pointing to his lifeless body.

Dad's body was surrounded by sparkles of light before disappearing all together. He soon reappeared as a ghost, his color showing his death of starvation. How could this have happened to him? He still had a bunch of days to live, right? He couldn't enjoy retirement, or see his grandkids, or even get his own cane! Why would this happen, what did he ever do? Dad turned to us, giving us a blank stare, and then smiled, a smile, of satisfaction. Then he flew into his urn, and Death disappeared with him.

Monday, Week 4, Day 24

I really don't want to go to work, but it was my first day. I guess that's what a Birthday Cake can do to you. You see, Mom got us a Birthday Cake to cheer us up, and I blew out the candles, and now look! Good thing I'm good at school, or else I would've probably ended up with a bad trait. Cindy and Boinky pulled me aside and explained what happened, how terrible…

"Hey new kid, you're here to work, not daydream!" my boss cried.

"Yes boss." I replied, and turned back to my desk.

I'm working at the Landgraab Science Facility as a Test Subject. All I have to do is sit at a desk, and every now and then I will get something to eat, drink, smell, touch, look at, be exposed to, or be hit with. It isn't bad, but it's not what I really want to do. Ever since I discovered a star when I was a little kid, I've wanted to be an Astronaut, so I could visit my star. But I don't have the Athletic trait, or the Brave trait. But I do have the Green Thumb trait, which is how I got this job, by having a good Gardening skill. But just because I'm a good gardener, doesn't mean I want to become a scientist, but I guess that's what they assume. Dad, he would have told me that I could do anything, but I guess that's what most dads tell their kids when their young. I don't know, but the Controller that Cindy and Boinky showed, where did they get it from? And more importantly, why couldn't it save Dad?


	18. Confronting the Clown

I sat down on the wooden bench in the backyard. Dad was buried in the back of the backyard, behind the tree house. I took the Controller out of my inventory. I watched it flip through various Sims around town, deciding their every move. Who was the true Sim behind the Controller, if there was a Sim at all? What if it was something more, some ominous force that Sims could never understand? It was a possibility, but if that was true, what could I do? Just then, a stone was thrown over the wooden fence of the backyard. I saw a figure rushing away through the cracks of the fence. The thought of chasing him/her crossed my mind, but I was too tired, I didn't care who the Tragic Clown was anymore. I just wanted to finish what I'd started and be done with it. I walked over to the stone, and as usual, there was a note taped to the stone.

_Your journey will end soon. You must come to the graveyard tonight to complete the journey and the Controller will be your._ _**Bring your Buddies!** _

_-Tragic Clown_

The note stirred me. The saying "your journey will end soon" pushed me the wrong way. And the bold writing "bring your buddies", did he mean Boinky and Tommy? Who else would he be referring to? I turned around and noticed Buddy the Mysterious Mr. Gnome, his wife, and Buddy Jr., standing around in the garden. Bring your buddies…that's what he meant. I picked up the Buddy family and put them in my inventory. But could I also bring Boinky and Tommy? But, going to the graveyard at night, not the safest or wisest thing to do. It'd be a stupid idea to even consider following these directions. That's why I decided to not tell Boinky and Tommy and go alone. I know that the rules of the land of horror movies state that you're never suppose to go to a graveyard alone, but, this just felt like something I had to do alone. I put the note in my pocket, and walked up to the house. The minute I got into the house, I smelled the scent of, food. I walked through the hall, and when I reached the kitchen, I saw that what I smelled, was plates and plates of food. Everything imaginable, pancakes, waffles, parfait, autumn salad, macaroni and cheese, ratatouille, cookies, spaghetti, hamburgers, sushi, everything possible. I stepped further out of the hallway, and I saw that it was Mom who had made all of this. She was making something else now, watching the oven with utmost attention. Tommy was watching TV in the living room, and Boinky was out working.

"Mom, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Oh, just improving my cooking skill. Go ahead and help yourself to anything if you're hungry." she replied, sounding out of breath.

"Mom, your cooking is fine, you don't need to improve it." I told her, grabbing a cookie.

"Oh no, I'm not cooking to make my cooking better." she replied.

"Then why are you making so much food?" I asked.

She gave me a knowing smile, "It's a surprise." she told me.

I walked over to the TV where Tommy was watching TV. I sat down with him, finishing the last of my cookie.

"Hey, what're you watching?" I asked.

"Oh, it's a foreign show with subtitles about three scientists and an engineer. My co-workers love it." he told me.

I looked outside and saw that the sun was beginning to set. I got up from the couch and headed to my room. I picked up Buddy and walked into the hallway. Right as I was about to leave, I heard a beeping noise coming from the Controller, which I'd hidden in-between two chairs. I picked it up just as Boinky came in from work.

"Whatcha doing?" he asked casually, twirling out of his work clothes.

"Just checking something" I mumbled.

There was a message on the Controller. It said, "Bring me.". I assumed it meant to bring it to the graveyard, but why?

"Hey, what's that message on the Controller?" Boinky asked, curious.

"I...I don't know." I lied.

"Yes you do." Boinky countered, seeing through my bluff.

I sighed, "Fine.".

I couldn't hide anything from him. I showed him the note and explained everything.

"And you didn't tell me?! Or Tommy?!" Boinky shouted in disbelief.

"It obviously wants me to go alone. And I'll be fine, I have the Controller with me!" I told him. "Well, what if it's a trap?! I'm not gonna let you go there by yourself!" he told me, and grabbed my hand.

I got butterflies in my stomach. This is weird, why am I even freaking out about this? He's my best friend, nothing more, right? I pulled my hand away, and let out a heavy sigh.

"Alright, you can come with me. Just stay farther away, I want the guy to think I'm alone." I told him.

"Alright then, let's go." Boinky replied.


	19. The Clown Passes On His Tragedy

We pulled up at the graveyard. I made sure I had the Controller and Buddy with me before stepping out of the car with Boinky.

"Do you want me to accompany you the graveyard?" Boinky asked.

"No, I'm suppose to be alone, remember?" I reminded him.

Boinky nodded, "I'll hide in the trees here. If I see something bad happening, I'm coming in. Be careful." he told me.

"Be careful." I told her.

I waited, peeking through the trees. It surprised me that there was hardly any fog in the graveyard. I'd expect that there'd be fog because, well, creepy graveyard in the middle of the night, there's suppose to be fog. But maybe it's better if there isn't, since then I probably wouldn't be able to see Cindy from this far of a distance. She glanced at me one last time before walking down the dirt path to the graveyard. I watched her get to the center of the graveyard, and now, I waited for the Tragic Clown to show up. Now that I think of it, wasn't there a gravestone in the graveyard with the name Tragic Clown pasted on it? Yeah, now that I think about it, there is. It was kind of obvious from the beginning that the Tragic Clown was a fake name, but I never considered to wonder who he/she was. Maybe that has to do with the fact that Cindy never really went into much detail about who the Tragic Clown was. Maybe she knows who he/she is, I should ask, and then I felt someone jump on top of me. I couldn't turn around to see who had hit me before a cloud of dust formed around us and we began tousling. Our body parts stuck out at odd angles and soon I was able to jump out of the cloud of dust. But just then, a figure jumped out of the dust as well and pulled me back in. During that time, I caught a pair of dark, horn-rimmed glasses…

I walked through the graveyard, I glanced at Boinky, who was hiding among some trees. I made my way to the center of the graveyard, and sat down on a stone bench. I could hear the pond gurgling and bubbling. This place always scared me as a kid, but not that I thought of it that often anyway. Death just seemed so far away back then. I noticed the Grim Reaper statue, the graveyard's centerpiece. I never really thought about him either, but when I did, I never thought he was actually real, like he was just some sort of imaginary boogie monster that parents used to scare their kids into eating their Autumn Salad. I then heard someone running through the path to the graveyard. I got up from the bench and looked around, but I couldn't see anyone. All I could hear was the sound of feet pounding on concrete. I heard the footsteps become louder, and louder. I turned in every direction, but I couldn't see the person. I turned to where Boinky was hiding, but he wasn't there, maybe it was him coming? No, that couldn't be, Boinky knows to hide. Now I could hear someone panting, it sounded male, and it sounded sort of familiar…

"…*pant*…huh…phew…you're…here…huh…" the voice said.

I now knew for certain that the voice came from behind me. I slowly turned around, anticipating what I'd see once I'd fully turned around. My eyes finally laid on the figure, who was had his hands on his knees and was bending over, he'd obviously been running.

"Do you have…the Controller?" Mr. Wright asked.

I couldn't believe it, why him? It was Mr. Wright that I had stolen the Controller from in the first place…but Mr. Wright didn't sound right. He normally sounds so calm and calculated, like everything was under control…

"Hurry! Do you have it!?" he urged me.

I shuffled in my inventory for the Controller, and pulled it out. It's slim buttons were being pushed left and right.

"What is this?" I asked, holding it out.

"It's…it's the key to the world. It's our entire existence. I thought I'd told you during your graduation." he told her, clutching to his stomach, as if he was in pain.

"Yeah, but who's controlling the Controller? Surely it isn't doing this on it's own. And why do you want me to have it? Why'd I have to steal it?" I replied, wanting answers.

"You don't think the Controller isn't controlling me too?! Gah!" Mr. Wright fell to his knees, and began coughing. "I rebelled against the Controller, of course I couldn't just _give_ it to you! I knew that when your family moved here, and the Controller started paying special attention to your family, that someone in that family was special. And in you memories…you seemed to be the most likely candidate.".

"Um, ok, but why would I want the Controller?" I asked, still confused.

"Look.." Mr. Wright lunged at me and clasped his sweaty hands on my shoulders, his eyes brimming with madness. "I'm old, and I'm tired. That, that thing has kept me alive long after my time to keep things running. I've done everything, accomplished amazing feats, and for what?! These actions, these _wonderful_ accomplishments aren't even my own! They're the forced actions of an faceless, nameless god, and I want out! I'm sick of being the puppet…that's where you come in. I'm too old to try to gain a resistance to the Controller and his annoying floating green gems, but you're younger, and stronger. _You'll_ take over for me, and on top of that, you can resist the Controller, I know you can because I taught you how!".

"Wait, take over?!" I blurted, surprised, and feeling tricked.

"Yes, but instead of becoming a puppet like me, you'll resist the Controller, and the power will go to the Sims, and not our silly god. This is my wish, will you please fulfill this prophecy when I'm gone?" he asked, the madness in his eyes turning into desperation.

"Gone? Where are you going?" I asked, confused.A smile appeared on his face. His hands slid off of my shoulders and onto the Controller. I saw him curse over to his own face and selected, 'Delete Item',

"Goodbye, Cindy. It's over for me, it's finally over…" he told me.

I watched him slowly wave me before he unceremoniously blink out into nothing. I stared into the space where he'd just occupied. I blinked, and blinked again, before collapsing on my knees. What just happened?


	20. The Green PlumbBob Closes

Chapter 20

I stood still. I felt a soft breeze brush through, hitting my face, and blowing through my hair. I took a deep breath, and reveled in the silence. I'm not sure why I paused there for so long, maybe it was because I finally knew, it was over. Or maybe it was simply to mourn Mr. Wright/Tragic Clown. I glanced around. I didn't hear the dramatic Death music, or see the Grim Reaper appear. And then I wondered why I expected him in the first place. I got off of my knees, and slowly trudged through the graveyard. A soothing mist appeared around the graveyard, and I felt a slight chill. I saw then, that ghosts were appearing everywhere. Huh, it must be midnight. Normally, adults shield their children from the truth about ghosts, but I've heard about many teenagers who'd sneak out in the middle of the night to see the ghosts at midnight. Wonder why I never did that…

"Wha…what…I'm alive!" a voice declared.

I swerved around to see a clown in makeup and a clown suit, shaking himself frantically.

"I can't believe it, I'm alive!" the clown repeated, but nobody was listening.

I watched as the clown ran off madly, jumping up and down in the air. I walked over to where he was once standing, and there was a gravestone that caught my eye.

_Tragic Clown 950 Days Old_

_Great achiever and role model, but had a curse that lasted him more than a lifetime._

I watched, as the name on the gravestone shifted and changed, from _Tragic Clown_ to _Will Wright._ What did it all mean? I was in a daze, what should I do now? Now that I didn't have Mr. Wright guiding me, how was I suppose to know what to do? I looked around, and noticed that Boinky wasn't in his hiding spot by the grove of trees. Suddenly I was pulled back by my neck and into a cloud of light brown dust and dirt.

"You have it, give it to me!" I heard a male voice command, as we struggled.

Got what? Does he mean the Controller? Is this guy going to try to steal the Controller? And am I going to give it to him? Um…no. I thrashed around, trying to anticipate his blows. He seemed to be a rather thin guy, but was still pretty strong despite that. I myself, never having been very Athletic, or a very good fighter, could feel myself losing to him. But then, I heard him scream, and he released himself from me. I was thrown out of the dust cloud, but the man was still fighting, although I couldn't see another person fighting him. In fact, it was like he was fighting himself, grabbing various parts of his body and thrashing about wildly. I looked left and right, trying to find who was fighting my fight for me. I then heard a very loud crashing noise, like a piece of pottery had been smashed. I then saw that it had been Buddy the Mysterious Mr. Gnome and Mrs. Buddy who'd been fighting him. Despite the fact that he'd just been fighting two pieces of inanimate plastic, he still looked winded and heavily beaten. The gnomes however, had been completely shattered beyond repair.

"Who, who are…you?" I asked.

The man didn't reply, facing downwards, refusing to look me in the eye.

"Well, whoever…you are…you're not staying." I declared.

I pulled the Controller out of my inventory. The man suddenly looked up at me with a look of utter terror, as if anticipating something horrible. I glanced onto the Controller, I noticed some text had appeared on its screen.

_End him, and he'll never bother you again._

I knew I had a say in this. If the Controller truly wanted him dead, it wouldn't even have told me to do anything. Did I want to end his life? I took a better look at the guy. He had light skin, short dark brown hair, a bit of an aftershave and blue eyes with horn rimmed glasses. He was wearing a bright blue tee-shirt and black skinny jeans with matching black sneakers. As far as I could tell, he was a normal Sim. But, why would he come after the Controller? Everyone knows how powerful and all-knowing the Controller is, it's very evident from the ever-present PlumbBobs over our heads. Seeking it out would be life-threatening. But then, I looked down at the Controller, shimmering against the moonlight. If there was a chance you could control the Controller, would you take it? I guess some would, like this guy here. But, nobody truly controlled the Controller did they? The Controller has a mind of its own, and many of its decisions we have absolutely no control over. And so I looked to the man, who was still cowering on the ground. I pressed a button on the Controller, and the man was whizzed away by bright blue and yellow lights.

I found Boinky passed out, having been thrown into a bank of bushes. I got him back into my car as best as I could. I checked my inventory. Mr. and Mrs. Buddy's shattered bodies had become gravestones, which I had placed in my inventory. I drove home, and turned on the radio. I looked at Boinky. He looked so peaceful, it was like he was asleep.

"I couldn't do it Boinky, I'm sorry.".

Many Days Later

Boinky and I have finally moved out of our hometown of Sunset Valley and into the new hip, bustling town of Pleasantview. It's for the best, there's more children in Pleasantview than in Sunset Valley, which will be good for Marcus and Melissa, our two children. Marcus was a child attending school and Melissa was a toddler, who was playing in the next room. Tommy decided to stay in Sunset Valley to take care of Mom, who still hasn't gotten over her cooking obsession. Speaking of cooking, I smell something burning in the kitchen. Boinky must be home early, probably trying to surprise me with something he "cooked" himself. It's sweet when he tries. I sat at my desk by my computer, now being an established professional writer, I have to commit hours of my time to work on my books. Along with that, I also receive occasional requests from the Controller. While I still don't know everything about it, I've learned that it can't do everything on its own, and must have an active Sim to get things done. And since I've built up resistance to the Controller through the exercises Mr. Wright taught me, so now, it must ask me to do things it wants, and I can choose to do them or not. As for the controlling side, I haven't done anything very drastic. I might have bumped up Boinky's popularity and raised Marcus's grades once or twice, but hey, can't I indulge myself? After all, isn't that what Mr. Wright wanted? Wait, no, he wanted Sims to be free of the Controller, yes, that's what he wanted! Why haven't I realized it sooner? But, how could I do that? Perhaps I could just simply break the Controller, would that work? Yeah, that would work, wouldn't it? Hmm, but, to be completely honest, I don't want to give up this life. The only reason why our lives are so fortunate is because of the Controller. Would our lives still be this fortunate if the Controller were gone? No, no that's selfish thinking. I would be just as bad as that man who tried to steal it from me back at the graveyard. I'll go destroy it now. I got out of my chair and marched to the door. But when I opened the door, I was greeted by a blazing inferno.

Tommy returned home from a day of work at the Military Base. He'd quit his job as a Test Subject at the Science Facility after a wonderful miracle had happened. One day he woke up and suddenly he was very Brave and Athletic. But luckily, he still kept his love of plants and gardening. He plopped down on the couch and turned on the News. There, the top story was that a house belonging to Mr. and Mrs. Heroor had burned to the ground, killing two Sims, acclaimed author Mrs. Cindy Heroor and Melissa Heroor, her youngest child. The husband, the renowned Magician, Mr. Boinky Heroor was away at work at the time of the fire, and their eldest son, Marcus Heroor, was at school. Tommy listened to the entire story with his jaw gaping wide. He turned off the television when the story ended, and stared some more at the blank screen. He finally gathered the strength to say the words,

"They're gonna pay for this.".


	21. A Flashback and Yellow PlumbBobs For All

"Children, what did I say about spawning inside the house?!" a shrill mother's voice called out from the kitchen.

Two children giggled from the living room, as orange and black butterflies fluttered around the room. The mother, a beautiful woman with dark hair, in the crux between Young Adult and Adult, looked over at the half wall that divided the living room and the kitchen.

"Xander, Chloe, look what you've done!" she shouted, as she exclaimed at the butterflies that wafted around the house. She set down the dinner she had been preparing, and began angrily marching into the living room. "Hand it over!"

"But Mom...they're just butterflies." Chloe protested.

Xander nodded in agreement, "Yeah, and they'll spawn even at night, or when its raining."

"Exactly, and that same spawner will spawn spiders, and...cockroaches that'll destroy our house!" she yelled."Now, who has it?"

Xander shied away, his hands behind his back, and Chloe followed suit, "We're sorry Mom." they apologized in unison.

The mother smiled, lightening up a bit, "I know, but still, this isn't your toy. It's for Daddy's work. Now who has it? Don't make me empty your Inventories."

Xander sighed, before placing the sleek, blue piece of plastic onto the ground.

"Honey, are the kids playing with the Controller again?" a deeper, immediately more friendlier voice asked, as a skinny Adult stepped out from the hallway.

"Yes Sean, and your children put a bug spawner right into our living room." she explained.

Sean laughed, his eyes carefree behind his horn-rimmed glasses, "You know, that's actually a great idea Narissa. That way, bugs will spawn at night, and during the winter."

Narissa rolled her eyes, "Another one of your business ventures Sean?"

"Hey, they've never failed me before." he countered, as he walked over to his two children, "Now, who wants to spawn bugs in the basement?"

"Yes!" they cheered in unison.

Their funerals were short and sweet. We couldn't get a tombstone for Melissa, since people almost never die at such an early age. In fact, I'd never heard of a toddler dying, ever. How could this have happened?

I remember the day like it was yesterday. I had returned from quitting my job, because, all of a sudden, for some reason I felt like I just wasn't qualified for my job anymore, and besides, being a Scientist had never been my lifetime wish. I sat down on the couch, imagining what life would be like when I became an astronaut, something I has always dreamed of being as a kid. I had just called the Military Base and was getting ready for my first day of work when I turned on the TV and saw the news report. My sister's house was aflame. I rushed over to Pleasantview, an hour drive from our childhood home in Sunset Valley. She had just bought the house with her husband, and former imaginary friend, Boinky. Yes, their wedding was just as awkward for our parents as it was for me, with him technically being part of the family and all, but at the same time, it seemed kind of natural that they'd get married. The fire department had already doused most of the flames by the time I'd arrived. I saw Boinky and his son, Marcus, who must've been at school.

"What happened, here?" I asked, stepping out of my car.

Boinky stood completely still, clearly having just come out of a freakout session. Marcus looked up at his father, expecting him to give a response.

"I...I don't know. I just got here when I saw the flames from work. Cindy was inside, so was Melissa. I don't know if they made it out…" he choked out, as he fought back tears.

Just then, a firefighter approached Boinky, and pulled him away from Marcus and I. With his father gone, Marcus looked to me, "Uncle Tommy, why can't the fireman tell everyone what happened?"

"Well, that's because your Dad is the Adult of the house, so the fireman has to tell him first. Then he can tell us." I explained the best I could for a thirteen day old child.

Boinky returned, his expression dejected, "They didn't survive the fire."

Now here I was, back at the funeral. Cindy was to be buried next to her father, but building restriction prevented us from doing so. So she's buried on the edge of the our parents' lot. Out of all of the ash, we couldn't properly identify Melissa's body, combined with the fact that we couldn't get her a tombstone, we placed a momentum to represent her: her Wugglesworth Schuggles Bear, right next to Cindy's grave. It wasn't much, but it was all we could do.

"There's no way we can afford to rebuild the house." Boinky confessed, as the funeral ceremony ended.

I nodded, "You gonna move back in with Mom?"

"What other choice do we have? Marcus will have to change schools, and he's already having trouble at his current school."

I looked up at Boinky, "Marcus is having trouble at school?"

Boinky blinked, "I passed on my ability to change into an Imaginary Friend to him, but he can't control it."

"But, how is that any different from having a kid Vampire or Werewolf?" I asked.

"Guess its just not as common." he figured.

It was strange to think Marcus would have trouble at school, he's such a good kid, and pretty smart too. I didn't remember anyone having trouble going to school when I went there, sure there was always drama, but it was never specifically targeted at one person. But then again, I guess things were pretty different back then.

We all walked back into the house and saw Mom already back to work. She had quit her job at the local bistro when we were teenagers, but she had recently picked it back up. On top of that, she often took requests from neighbors to cook meals for them. She was just finishing a plate of Goopy Carbonara when she saw us walking in. She smiled warmly, and placed the plate into her Inventory, "Oh, hello everyone."

Slowly, she walked over to greet us, paying special attention to her grandson, "I'm going to go see the Altos and drop this off for them while its still warm."

"Mom, aren't you gonna take a bit of time off of work?" I asked, while she stumbled halfway across the living room on her walker.

She looked back at me briefly, "Oh, believe me I would, but...you know, I just don't got that kind of time anymore."

She walked the rest of the way, and as the door closed behind her, I sat down on the living room couch. I've never seem Mom this active before, and of all times to be so!

"Marcus, how about you go outside and play? Dad needs to talk to Uncle Tommy for a bit." Boinky explains.

Marcus nodded, before he ran out the door. Boinky sat down on the couch next to me, "She had the Controller with her in the house."

"I know. For all we know, it could've burned up with it." I told him.

"Well, I don't think it did." Boinky argued. "When we were in the cemetery, confronting the Tragic Clown, there was this other guy who attacked us, someone we'd never met before. But we knew one thing, he was after the Controller."

"You're saying he set the house on fire?" I asked.

"Its a possibility we can't afford to overlook. And what else could've set the house on fire? No fireplace, no running stove...it can't have been pure accident."

I sighed, "Even if this guy did set your house on fire, how did he do it? Sims don't just, set things on fire on command."

Boinky, for the first time in quite awhile, gave a brief hint of a smile, "Sims don't, but Wizards can."


	22. Varg's Tavern

Monday, Week 8, Day 57

Varg's Tavern wasn't the most official place to be looking for Supernaturals, but since this wasn't Moonlight Falls, we didn't have too many other options. After work, with Marcus at home with Mom, Boinky and I drove out to the Tavern, located in an offshoot near the Military Base. The Tavern itself looked like a renovated warehouse. There were already a bunch of cars parked in the parking lot, most of them the sporty, flashy kind that Young Adults drive these days. We parked Tommy's Wornado Triage, which was a stark contrast to the cars parked, most of which probably still had that new car smell. Boinky and I entered the Tavern, which was just as dark as the wooden exterior. The bar was already teeming with all kinds of Sims who all seemed to be completely different from the next. Where were we even suppose to start? Boinky however, seemed very confident, as he strided up to a Fairy working the bar,

"Two Simsmapolitans please." he politely ordered, as he seated himself at the bar.

The bartender lit up, "Oh my gosh, its Boinky Heroor!"

Boinky chuckled, as he raised his hand almost in pardon, "Thank you."

"Tell you what, these drinks are on the house." the bartender told us.

I sat down next to Boinky as we received our drinks, "I didn't realize you were such a Celebrity."

"I'm a performer, and when you've been doing this as long as I have, it comes with the territory." Boinky explained, as he took the first sip of his drink.

"But...no offense, aren't you a Magician? Don't you like, perform at little kids parties?" I asked.

"Originally, yes. But I started young, and it helped I attended LeFromage Art School. Children's parties aren't the only option for Magicians my friend."

I paused, my drink in my hand, dumbfounded, "Yeah...of course…"

The Fairy bartender walked over to us again, "Everything going well, Mr. Heroor?"

"Yes!" we both agreed at the same time. Opps...he was probably referring to Boinky.

Boinky coughed a little before continuing, "Yes...but I must ask for a bit of bartenders' insight."

"Of course. What sort of gossip are we talking about?" he asked.

Boinky shook his head, "I'm looking for something a little more...unorthodox."

The bartender suddenly got a mischievous smirk, "Oh, kinky."

"I'm looking for a certain Wizard who's after a device called the Controller."

The bartender's devious smile immediately faded, replaced with a look of terror, "No...you don't wanna know about that."

"C'mon, you just said this kind of stuff's 'kinky'." I added in.

Boinky stared at the bartender expectantly for a couple of seconds before, "...I'll give you an autograph."

The bartender slammed his fist onto the table, which briefly lifted our half-finished drinks into the air, "Fine! There's this Wizard, his name is Sean Costello, he came into town a long time ago and...he was amazing. He had everything, but then, one day...he lost his power. I don't why, but, after that, he lost everything. But recently, he been back in town, and supposedly he's got his old powers back. The Controller, that's what he called himself when he had power."

"Where can we find him?" I asked.

"You _don't_ go looking for him. He's got the whole town under his thumb, especially the Supernatural community." the bartender warned.

I paused, "Look, my sister and her child died and it could very likely be because this guy wanted to relive his glory days! Now, you either tell us what you know, or their deaths will go unresolved until the end of days!"

"Alright, alright! His house use to be on 60 Rose St., where you live now, that's why it was so cheap. He lost it to the Repo-Man. Ever since then, he's been living in an apartment in Bridgeport. That's all I know, I swear!"

I looked over at Boinky, who was just as confused as me, "Bridgeport? If he lives in Bridgeport, how can he be here?"

"...you can freely travel between neighborhoods now...you didn't know?" the bartender asked.

Boinky chuckled nervously, "Heh...guess we're just a little behind. Tommy, we should get going."  
Boinky and I dashed out of the bar as fast as we could, jumped into the car and rode off,

"Did you ever know that you could travel between neighborhoods?" Boinky asked.

I shook my head, "Well, I guess we're not exactly Young Adults anymore."

Boinky laughed, "Hey, remember when they were just introducing universities?"

"Oh yeah, I attended first, remember? I got my degree in Physical Education."

"Dude, a degree in Physical Education is good for like...two jobs. But then again, you probably weren't too excited to get a degree in Science and Medicine, were you?" Boinky asked.

I shrugged, as I steered my car back down into town, "Yeah. I mean, Scientist is a steady, respectable job, but its...not quite what I want."

"Hey, every job becomes steady paying and respectable eventually, even performing tricks at little kids parties." Boinky assured me.

"...Thanks man."

Boinky and I continued to look completely straight ahead as my car crossed the town borders that traced around the nearby mountains.

"Have you ever been to Bridgeport? On like, a SimPort gig or something like that?" I asked.

Boinky shook his head, "No, always wanted to though, especially since its the only city in SimNation."

I felt my hands grip the wheel slightly tighter, hmm, never knew I could do that, "Well, guess we're about to see."


	23. Visiting Sean's Apartment

All I can really remember about the drive to Bridgeport is that it was long...very long. You'd think we'd pass a few memorable landmarks on the trip, or at least something that'd stick out in my mind. I have never driven for so long in my life, maybe that's one of the luxuries of living in a small town, no driving long distances. I'm not sure why I didn't strike up a conversation with Boinky either, I guess we were both focused on the destination.

We arrived in Bridgeport at eight A.M., to a mostly empty city. I guess cities weren't very active during the daytime hours, and besides, Bridgeport is known for its nightlife.

"Since we're going to be in the city for a couple of days, we should get an apartment." Boinky suggested.

I nodded, and I as drove across the bridge to the main city, I took a peek at the towering skyscrapers. While there were only a handful of high rises, it was certainly much taller than anything I've ever seen before. The city somehow felt large and expansive, but also small at the same time. We picked an apartment on the south-east side of the city, almost on the edge of the main island. Mostly due to the fact that it was the only apartment available that had a pool outside. Not that we were ever going to use it, it just looked nice.

We started unloading our stuff from the family inventory, "Wow, there's definitely much less space here." Boinky commented, as we were setting out the basic dining table and living room couch.

"Yeah, and most of the apartments were only one bedroom like this one, so I'll sleep on the couch." I told him.

"No way man, I've tried sleeping on a couch. You can't, at the very best you can nap, but that's gonna be a killer on your sleeping habits. Here...I got an idea."

I raised an eyebrow, "...we're not sleeping in a double bed are we?"

"No, I got something better." Boinky replied.

I walked into the bedroom to see that in the place of a standard bed was a bunk bed.

"Ohh…"

Boinky nodded, "I always wanted one of these."

"Didn't we all? It was the latest and greatest thing at the time." I reminisced. "...I call top bunk!"

Tuesday, Week 8, Day 58

We tracked down Sean's apartment to one of the high-rises in the center of the city. Since the bartender back in Sunset Valley mentioned him, his residence now showed up on our map. Although, we weren't sure exactly how to approach him,

"So, do we just knock on his door, asking if he set your house on fire?" I asked as we stood in front of the towering high-rise.

"I'm not sure...we certainly have to ask about the Controller. I mean, average burglars don't set your house on fire. He was there for a specific reason."

I swallowed, "But I mean, what if he isn't even the guy who did it? I know you told me about how he attacked you and Cindy back in Sunset Valley, but what other evidence is there to place him at the crime?"

"Tommy, you sound like a cop." Boinky remarked, "Speaking of cops, I've got an idea. Change your appearance into work clothes."

"Into what? I've still got my coat from being a scientist, but that's about it." I told him.

"I know, and all I've got is my magician's coat, but its not our work clothes I want. Its Dad's."

I blinked a couple of times, before my mouth expanded into an, "Oh…I get it."

We both changed into Dad's old police officer uniform, and of course Boinky made the mistake of using his final outfit, a fancy tux with a tie literally stitched into the shirt.

"No, no, no, that's not right. He's not gonna expect secret agent Dad to come to his apartment." I shook, as I spun around an extra time to change into the standard cop outfit.

Boinky looked down at his overdressed ensemble, blinked a couple of times, then flashed a pose, "Heroor. Malcolm Heroor."

I chuckled, "Yeah, he'd do that all the time."

Boinky changed into the standard dark blue shirt and pants, with the signature cap, before we entered the elevator. But, just as the doors closed, the elevator *dings* to signify that we've reached the desired floor.

"Did you feel it move at all?" Boinky asked, and I raised my arms in confusion.

The door opened to a very short hallway that led to a single door. At least we wouldn't get lost trying to find the room.

"You ready?" Boinky asked.

I twisted my lips, as I contemplated my answer, "Well, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't." I reached out my right hand, and rang the doorbell.

"Yes officers?" a man asked, pulling the door open.

His apartment could hardly be considered an apartment at all. It expanded around the elevator, with a glass staircase that led up to the next level. Its as if his apartment _was_ the building.

"Yes, Sean Costello? We're here on the behalf of an anonymous noise complaint last night." Boinky informed him, having been the better actor out of the two of us.

Sean laughed, "Oh, my friends, this is Bridgeport for crying out loud. And its not like I have speakers out on my front lawn, all of my business is kept, indoors."

I shook my head, trying to imitate Dad, "We understand, but it still warrants a mandatory search. New regulations, you see."

"I see." he nodded, his friendly vise dropping, "Well, c'mon in."

We walked in, Sean slowly closing the door behind us. This first floor of his apartment was a standard flat, with a living room, bedroom and kitchen area. With all the necessary extremities already on this floor, what would be on the other floors?

"Shall I show you around?" he offered, as he calmly strolled forward towards the glass staircase.

We followed him upstairs, to a brightly lit leisure area, complete with a pool table, dart board, reading area and a bar.

"Hmm, little strange to have a miniature library in the middle of your lounge area." Boinky commented.

"Yeah, well, sometimes I like to find solace in literature." Sean replied, "Say...do I know you?" he asked Boinky.

Oh shoot, maybe we should've disguised Boinky better, his blue hair and dark skin being very distinguishable. Boinky just smiled, and shrugged,

"I don't know, maybe. I have one of those faces, you know?"

"No, no, no, I've seen you before, definitely."

Not good, what if he recognized Boinky and realized he's not a cop? Or worse, what if he realized that Boinky's the guy he attacked in the graveyard back in Sunset Valley?

"Hey, you read Cindy Heroor?" Boinky asked, pulling out a copy of one of her books from a bookshelf.

However, the book didn't slide out all the way, as it snapped into place at a sideways angle. The whole bookshelf then began to slide to the side, which revealed a secret room. Boinky and I exchanged glances, neither of us quite sure how to react.

"Gentlemen, I see you've found my, uhm...speakeasy." Sean stuttered, as Boinky and I marched in.

"Explains the 'reading' area." I realized aloud, noting the cobblestone walls and floors, plus the dark lighting of the room.

The room consisted of more bookshelves, an Aleister's Alchemy Station, and at the end of the room, encased in a Carter's Display Case, was the Controller, presented with spotlights and a roped off area. I tried my best to not react when I saw it, but I still felt my stomach drop and my palms beginning to sweat.

Sean smiled, "Ah, gentlemen, I see you're entranced by this lovely device." he weaved in between us as the rope parted for him. At his touch, the glass case disappeared, and he gently lifted the Controller off of its case, "This, right here, is the answer to all of your problems."

Boinky and I looked at each other, and Boinky's gritted teeth and aggressive stance gave the suggestion as to what he wanted to do.

"You see, I can create anything with this. Anything you desire." Sean presented, as he dexterously flung his fingers along its buttons.

Suddenly, a Sim in a scandalously tight Nightlife dress appeared, practically out of thin air. She began walking toward Boinky, who's unmoved expression communicated his feelings on the situation as he politely pushed her away, "We're aware."

"Oh, I see. So that's what you gentlemen are here for. What can I get you?" he asked eagerly.

"Sean Costello, you're under arrest on the account of multiple murders, blackmail, and intimidation." Boinky ordered. "Starting with the confiscation of that device."

Sean smiled, a wicked, twisted smile, then laughed, "Oh...what a show, gentlemen, really! Because, even if you two really were police officers, there's no way you can arrest me."

Catching us off guard, Boinky and I stepped back slightly, both assuming defensive stances, but Sean continued to laugh, "Yes, yes, because, according to the Controller, neither of you are police officers. You're borrowing your father's work outfit, how cute." he flicked the Controller a couple of more times, "Lets see, you're...oh, of course, you're Tommy Heroor, Cindy's brother! How delicious! And...and, ohhhh, you're Boinky the Resolute, that Magician that can turn into an Imaginary Friend! And you're Cindy's husband, aren't you? HA! I knew I'd seen you somewhere."

"You killed Cindy and Melissa for that stupid thing! It doesn't matter if we're not police officers, you have to go to jail." I confronted him, my anger now barely contained.

"Well, pardon me, but, since when has setting someone's house on fire been against the law? People do it with their stoves all the time." Sean countered.

Wha...he's right. But, he stole the Controller, that had to count for something.

"Also, murder? Totally legal, and I can do it easily, like this."

To our horror, with one swipe of his button, the girl he'd summoned mere minutes ago vanished into thin air, no tombstone, no Grim Reapers, no luau girls...nothing.

Sean, completely unfazed by his act of murder continued, "But, a death like that is rather unceremonious, don't you think? And I don't even get a souvenir. No, I prefer something like...this!"

Suddenly, I couldn't see anything. I realized I was in an unfinished room, the walls that uncomfortable shade of gray. I was completely boxed in, unable to move. On the other side of the walls, I heard Sean as he cackled maniacally,

"In three or so days, you two will be ash, and this time, I'll get to keep your tombstones, on account of you passing on my property. Maybe I'll send you back to be buried with Cindy, or maybe I'll just add you to my collection. Who knows? Well, ta ta for now!"


	24. Escape

With my hands, I felt around, I tried to gain my bearings. There were walls surrounding me, on all four sides. Couldn't he at least have put in a light? Or maybe even have painted the walls.

"Tommy, can you hear me?!" its Boinky, as he called from his equally small prison.

"Yeah!" I declared, slamming my hand on a wall.

"We have to find a wall out of here." he reasoned.

"Gee?" I responded sarcastically, "No kidding."

We pondered in silence. This wasn't our house, so we couldn't go into Buy/Build mode. We could've teleported out, but we needed the Controller.

"Hang on..." I realized, "You're a Magician, right? Couldn't you do something to get yourself out?"

Nobody responded for a moment, until, "Oh yeah! I can perform the Watery Grave trick, and try to glitch through the wall as I step out!"

Glitch? What is he talking about?

"What's glitching? I asked.

"Its this ability that allows you to phase through walls and objects, but it can only work if you do it right."

"And you've done this before?"

"Nope. Just heard about it, but we don't exactly have too many options here now, do we?"

Passing through walls? What was he, a ghost?

"This trick requires the Box of Danger, which means I have to live through the trick before even thinking about stepping out." he explained.

"You...sure you're going to be alright?" I questioned.

"Hey, worse comes to worse, I'll die, and as a ghost I'll be able to phase out of these walls. But that's worst case scenario. Now, shush so I can focus."

I tentatively leaned against my prison wall as I heard him take out the Box of Danger from his inventory. If he's walled off in a space that's just as small as mine, how could he fit his Box of Danger?

I heard the sound of the tank as it was being filled with water. Although my outside body showed little movement or reaction, on the inside I was freaking out, fidgety in all kinds of little ways.

I heard the glass door close. Now it was only a matter of time.

"You...you okay in there?" I asked, although I then realized he wouldn't have been able to hear me.

I began tapping my foot and nervously whistled as I looked around. I'm not sure why I felt the need to look around, considering that I was surrounded on all sides by blank walls.

I suddenly heard someone slamming to the ground, gasping for air. Was that Boinky?

"Boinky, is that you?! Are you okay?!" I called out.

"Yeah...I made it out." he blurted, as he spitted out leftover water.

"Well...uhm...can you get me out?"

"Yeah, hang on."

Suddenly, the walls around me disappeared, and I was set free from my claustrophobic environment, "Thank goodness."

"And look what we've got here." Boinky revealed in his hand was the Controller.

"Nice." I cheered, as Boinky and I teleported out of the building.

We were teleported back to our apartment, and the instant we got back, we went into Buy Mode and began packing everything to leave.

"Man, we came here to Bridgeport, and we didn't even get to do anything!" I exclaimed.

"We weren't here to play around anyway. We got what we came here for, now its time to get out of here." Boinky reasoned.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Say…" Boinky mumbled, as he scanned through the Controller, "We can use the Controller to bring people back to life, can't we?"

"...seriously?" I asked, stunned.

"Well, not directly. But we can use it to get our hands on a Philosopher's Stone, and we can use that to summon ghosts." he explained.

I high-fived him, "No way! That's amazing man, that means that we can bring everyone back, Dad, Cindy, Melissa-"  
"Not Melissa." Boinky stopped me, "Toddlers and children can't have ghosts. She's gone forever."

I sank back down, "Oh…"

Boinky placed his hand on my shoulder, "We'll figure it out when we get home, alright? For now, lets just focus on getting out of here."

"God...Cindy's gonna be pissed."

My moodlet meter was all wrong the rest of that day. Sure, it was telling me that I felt great, but I didn't feel great. No Good Night's Rest or Exhilarating Shower was going to hide the fact that I felt terrible. I watched the sun set as Boinky and I drove out of Bridgeport. As I watched the sun falling past the waters that surrounded Bridgeport, something strange occurred. Everything...paused for...a...second, and then...paused...again. What's...going...on? The...sun...and...sky...when...everything...pauses...looks...strange...blocky...choppy...incomplete.

"Is something wrong?" Boinky asked, his eyes focused on the road.

I looked around, everything was back to its normal speed. But, what was that? Boinky clearly didn't notice anything.

"...nothing. Just tired." I lied.


	25. Things Can Get Quiet When You're Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a bit of an upgrade in the technological department, so forgive the slight change in style.

   Things can get quite quiet when you’re dead. There isn’t really anyone to talk to, well, except other dead people. And that’s only at night, when you can float out of your grave and wander around. But during the day all I see is darkness, emptiness. I don’t know why they decided to bury me on my parents’ lot in Sunset Valley, I at least would’ve had a lot more people to talk to if they’d buried me in the cemetery. But on the other hand, being buried on my parents’ lot has its upsides. On one hand, at night, sometimes I lift myself out of my grave and wander the house. Its just like it was when I was a kid, for the most part. Although, Mom upgraded the kitchen a little bit, and although the new counters didn’t blend well with the rest of the house, it was good that the new stove was fireproof. I’d hate if anything were to happen to her.

“You holding up well Cindy?” it was Dad as he floated towards me his white apparition glimmered in the moonlight.

“I’m fine Dad.” I replied, “Where have Boinky and Tommy been?”

“They went to Bridgeport, not sure why though.”

I sighed, “You know, I miss them sometimes.”

He smiled, “I do too dear, but, this is how things are now.”

We drifted through the front walls into the living room. All the lights had been turned off for the night, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t turn them on when we entered. Dad made a beeline for his favorite spot on the couch by the TV. He didn’t turn on the television, but I don’t think he needed to. He just sat down, and then adjusted himself slightly for comfort. He looked down at the coffee table,

“Darn, Brittany already threw away the paper.”

“You know you could just use the computer.” I told him, as I sat down at one of the dining room chairs.

“I know. Its just, well, I guess old habits die hard. And I liked reading all those peculiar stories they’d post in the papers.” he defended himself, “I saw a couple of days ago in the paper, your old friend, Percy, became a Journalist. Who would’ve thought?”

I felt a pang in my heart, “...Percy?”

“Yeah, strange, you’d think with his parents he’d go into some kind of Athletic career. Well, then again, look how you turned out.”

I chuckled, “Yeah…” I suddenly remembered something, “Hey Dad, have you ever looked at your Memory Book?”

“I did once, but, its nothing exciting, trust me.” he assured her.

“But, its said, that once you die, that you can look back in your Memory Book and, relive those moments. You think I can do that?”

He got up from his chair, “I don’t think you can, I  know you can. But Cindy, you don’t want to. Believe me, I tried, its not something you want to experience. We were all very different back then, and you know what’s gonna happen, in the future.”

“But if I can go back, why not? Why not at least try?”

He squeezed his lips shut, lifted his chest in a heavy breath, “...are you sure, dear?”

“Yes Dad, I’ll choose an unimportant memory, like...like when I wrote my first book. Other than that, it was an average day, just like any other.”

“Alright…”

Week 1, Day 6 Friday

   It was sunny, weather hadn’t been invented yet, so it was always sunny back then. I shared a bunk bed with Boinky. The house still had its original paint and flooring. Boy was it cheap-looking back then, but it had a certain charm to it. My first computer, the Easy Machine from Fred’s PC Hut, sat on a rickety wooden desk by the bed. I reached out to touch the little bed when a small little body zipped past me. That little person was me. I had long hair back then, as opposed to the shorter cut I started wearing in my teenaged years. 

“Cindy, are you getting ready for school?” it was my mother, I remember she’d always make sure I was ready for school everyday.

“Yes Mommy!” Mommy...I didn’t even remember ever calling her that…

Mom looked so young, neither Tommy nor I ever inherited her blond hair, but I always thought it looked nice on her. Her hair was short, kind of like how mine was now, except she always wore this funny-looking blue hat she’d seen in a Generations magazine.

As my Child self ran out of the bedroom, I followed her out. The narrow hallway that connected the bedrooms and the central living/dining room looked so much brighter, with the combination of the morning sunlight and those old-fashioned wall lights that came with the house that gave a golden glow to the otherwise unimpressive house.

I peered into the other bedroom and I saw Dad cradling a Toddler Tommy. He looked so small, almost kind of sweet. Who’d knew he’d one day grow up to want to become a Astronaut? But...he was never very Athletic, so a Military career wasn’t plausible for him, until I played with his Traits with the Controller. I always wondered if that was a good decision, it was my dying act after all. I just...I was just thinking that if there was anything I could do for my family before I died, and that’s what I did.

I continued to the living room where Boinky was already up, drinking juice in front of the TV. Mom was getting ready for work herself, she had changed into her work outfit of a messy apron and baggy work clothes.

“Uhm...Mom, where’s Cindy?” Boinky asked, as he threw his juice into the small garbage can.

“I think she’s working on her book in your room.” she replied, as she sat down and turned on the TV.

“Again?” he asked.

I cringed, I did neglect Boinky in those days, that’s why he left for boarding school. And it didn’t help that Tommy was afraid of him those days. Why was I so careless? Boinky never deserved that, he’s always been a great guy, why didn’t I see that?

Tears began brimming in my eyes. I leaned on the dining table for support. I watched as my Child self entered the dining room and got a bowl of cereal from the refrigerator.

“Morning Boinky.” she greeted autonomously to him.

She began eating her cereal next to him, completely devoid of his presence. He however, seemed completely engrossed in what she was doing, even if she wasn’t really paying attention to him.

The young Dad entered the room as well, his full head of hair and youthful appearance having been a faint memory for so many years, until now, here he was right in front of me. I wanted to hug him, but I knew it was wrong at the same time. I wanted to talk to all of them, but I could only watch.

“How’s the family this morning?” he asked, as he got himself a quick cup of coffee.

“We’re good.” we all replied, not bothering to look up from our activities.

Someone tapped my shoulder, I turned around and see that its my Dad, old and ghostly, his weary smile still ever-present. I looked back and saw young Dad, as he kissed Mom on the cheek before swinging into his work clothes and headed out the door. I sniffled, and I wiped a tear from my cheek as more started to pour down my face,

“Oh Dad, I can’t take it. You’re all so young and beautiful. Why did we ever have to get old?” I approached Mom, “Mom, I’m right here. I grew up, I...I love you, everything...oh Mom, just look at me for one minute as if you really saw me. Mom...I’m dead, and, and you’re a grandmother.” I next walked over to Boinky, and got down on one knee, “Boinky...ha, we got married. I kept my promise Boinky, we became a Mom and Dad, just like you wanted.”

I got up, and faced my aged father, “I’m ready to leave, just, just let me say goodbye.” I leaned against the front door, as I took in the room one last time, “Goodbye Mom, goodbye Boinky, goodbye Tommy, goodbye to breakfast, and TV, and writing books and sleeping and waking up…we, we never really realized life while we were living it, did we?”

Dad shook his head, “C’mon Cindy, its time to go.”

I watched as the bright, sunny house faded away into darkness, darkness again.

“Its daytime isn’t it?” I asked, noting the complete emptiness of my vision.

“Yep, morning must have come while we were away.” Dad noted, his voice rapidly fading, “You get some rest Cindy, goodnight.”


	27. Resurrection

 

   Boinky and I rushed into the house, the Controller in Boinky’s hand.

“Tommy, the graveyard!” he realized, as he gestured to the edge of the lot.

We ran there as fast as our legs could carry us, and Boinky beat me as he crossed through the gothic fence into the small family graveyard. Dad’s grave sat next to Cindy’s, the small space dedicated to them left relatively left undecorated.

“You know what to do, right?” I asked him, as we centered ourselves by Cindy’s grave.

He nodded, “Yeah.”

Boinky punched the buttons on his Controller, and the Philosopher’s Stone appeared right next to them.

“Alright, here we go.” I declared, as I walked over to the shining orb.

I waved my hands over the stone and just then, Cindy’s grave disappeared.

“Well...did it work?” I asked.

Boinky turned to me, and raised his arms in confusion.

“I’m right here guys.” a female voice called out.

I whipped around to see Cindy, in ghost form, floating in mid-air, her form slumped down, almost burdened.

“Hey, you’re alive! Sorta...kind of…” I trailed off, not quite sure what to say.

She floated over to me, tears brimmed in her eyes, and she pulled me into a hug, as she began sobbing into my shoulder.

I patted her on the back, “It’s okay sis, you’re home now.”

   “What do you mean we’re not resurrecting Dad?!” Tommy bursted out in shock.

“You heard me.” I told him, “He wouldn’t want it.”

We were all sitting in the living room, waiting for Mom to come back from work and Marcus to get back from school.

Boinky nodded, “Honestly, I have to agree with Cindy. Despite what happened to Dad, he was already towards the end of his life.”

Tommy sunk his head into his palms, “I just...don’t get it. I mean, if you had a chance to come back to life, wouldn’t you take it?”

“I would, but only because I have unfinished business.” I argued, “Dad seems pretty satisfied.”

“How would you know? Have you talked to him?” he asked accusingly.

I nodded, “Ghosts sometimes come out at night. We’re no exception.”

“Besides, we have more important things to worry about. How will Mom and Marcus react to know that Cindy’s back?” Boinky told him.

“Oh what do you know?!” Tommy shouted, exploding in anger, “They’re not really your parents anyway!”

He angrily stomped out of the room, leaving Boinky, shocked, to rest his cheek on his fist, his expression blank.

“Boinky…” I began.

“No, no, it’s okay.” he stopped me, “I...know he didn’t mean it. He’s just angry, he’s been through a lot.”

“No kidding...hey, do you think he’s still afraid of you?”

He looked over at me, “Him? No, not since we were kids. But I’ll admit, there is a certain amount of distance between us. We just kind of teamed up out of necessity. I mean, I don’t think I’ll be the first in line to go get a drink with the guy anytime soon. I mean, in a way, he is my brother, but at the same time he has a point. Biologically, I’m not his brother, and I really shouldn’t have a right to call Mom and Dad-”

I floated over, sat down on the couch with Boinky, and rested my head on his shoulder, “No. You know Mom and Dad think of you as their son, even after you went to boarding school.”

He wrapped his arm around me, something we haven’t done in a long time, “Thanks.”

   “Mom?” I asked, as I floated out from behind a corner, accidentally floating through a part of it.

“Oh...Cindy…” she gasped, as she clenched her fists in front of face.

She ran over to me to hug me, “I knew you’d come back.”

“Wait...what do you mean?” I asked, as she pulled away.

She chuckled suddenly, “...don’t worry about it. What matters is that you’re back. And I have just the thing to celebrate. I’ve been working on it for a long time.” she jogged over to the refrigerator, running as if she were twenty days younger.

She opened the fridge and presented a single plate of Ambrosia, “I was saving it for your father, but, I think he would want you to have it, don’t you think?”

I thought back to the conversation that Boinky, Tommy and I had, and, the conversations Dad and I had when we were both dead and alive. He didn’t need to be dragged out of the coffin again and again like Principal Wright, and nobody wants to live forever. But, even so, I still felt a twinge of guilt...this was meant for him...

“Cindy, you deserve this.” Tommy admitted weakly, as he leaned against the hallway wall.

Mom put the plate on the dining room table. The dish emitted a colorful aura, almost as if it was stale, but it had a pleasant scent to it, like fruit and whipped cream. I sat down at the table and a fork appeared in my hand. Boinky entered the room as well, standing next to Tommy. Both of them looked on as I began eating. I quickly finished it, and I stood up,

“Well...did it work?” Tommy asked.

I’m suddenly surrounded by the same blinding bright lights that was emitted from the Ambrosia. When the lights died down, I lifted up my hands and saw, skin, my skin.

“...Mom?” a young male voice asked.

I looked up and saw a teenaged Marcus standing by the front door. Now it was my turn to run over and hug him,

“Oh Marcus, you’re so big, when did you grow so much?”

“M...mom...you’re, alive.” he stuttered.

“Yes dear, I’m alive.” I repeated.

I let go, and he smiled, his crew cut hiding his father’s deep blue hair.

“Son, when did you become a Teenager?” Boinky asked, his hands in his pockets.

He looked up, “Oh, just about an hour ago.”

“So, you do realize how late it is?” he asked authoritively.

“...yes, Dad. But I was just staying late at school to clean the bird cages when it happened.” Marcus explained.

His father smiled, “Alright then, you better get on to bed. Gonna be starting high school tomorrow.”

Marcus, however, didn’t look pleased at the idea, “Yeah...I know.” he mumbled as he sulked off to his room.

I walked over to Boinky, “Is Marcus still having trouble at school?”

Boinky nodded, “Yeah. He’s an Honor student, but he just can’t seem to make any friends. I have no idea why.”

“Well, from what I’ve heard, school’s a lot different from when we were going.” Tommy added, “Sunset Valley is a lot smaller now than it use to be. Everyone lives in Pleasantview now. Some are even calling Sunset Valley ‘Old Town’.”

“I know, that’s why we moved there originally.” I remembered, “Have either of you tried talking to him about it?”

Boinky and Tommy looked at each other nervously, both of them afraid to give an answer.

“Ugh, you guys.” I rolled my eyes, “If neither of you will, than I will.” I marched over to his room, and as the door opened, I saw that the lights were already off. His room was decorated with various posters and I noticed he was sleeping in the bunk bed Boinky and I shared as kids. He looked fast asleep, so I carefully grabbed the handle so the door wouldn’t slam on its own like it always does, and carefully shut the door.

“In the morning.” I promised myself. **  
**


	28. Old Friends

Wednesday, Week 8, Day 59

   I peeked open my eyes to see my bedside end table. I turned over and saw Boinky, still asleep. I got up, yawning as I walked over to the bathroom. After a trip to the shower, I made my way over to the kitchen, where Mom was making pancakes.

“Morning dear.” she smiled, as she flipped the pancakes on the grill.

I grinned, “Morning Mom.”. I remembered seeing her when I’d accessed my memories, she’d looked beautiful then, but even now, there’s still something beautiful about her, “You don’t have to make pancakes now. You need to get ready for work.”

“Oh, don’t worry dear, it’s not a problem. Besides, Marcus loves pancakes before school.” she assured me, as she placed the full serving platter of pancakes on the family dining table, “Please, help yourself.”

I took a plate of pancakes, and seated myself at the dining table just as Marcus entered the room. Still in his pyjamas of a thin t-shirt and shorts, he took a plate of pancakes and sat down as well, “Morning Grandma, morning Mom.”

“Morning Marcus.” I beamed at him, “Dear, we have so much catching up to do, I don’t know where to begin-”

“Not much to catch up on.” he interrupted, as he took a bite of his pancakes, “I’m still me.”

“Yes, but you’re a Teenager now, I know that must be a big step for you.”

He looked up from his food, “Nope. Nothing’s really changed, I’m just, bigger. I still go to school, in the same building none the less.”

I finished my pancakes and got up to take my plate to the sink, “Well, what about clubs? There’s so many more clubs now that you’re older.”

“I’m not joining any clubs.” he stated plainly, “I tried the Music Club, didn’t work out.”

“Why not?” I asked, as I sat back down to listen.

“...why do you want to know?”

“Because I care.”

“You’re making way too big a deal about this Mom, just, leave it alone.” he told me, as he got out of his chair.

“Well, you should do something, what are your interests?” I asked, “I remember you use to like chess when you were a Child, and you also liked Uncle Tommy’s telescope.”

He rolled his eyes, “You’re thinking of the Debate Club, aren’t you?”

“What’s wrong with being in the Debate Club?”

“It’s for losers Mom.”

“All I’m saying is that you should be doing something with your time, and it might as well be something that you enjoy.” I told him.

“Mom you-...ugh, you don’t understand Mom.” just then the honk from the school came, “Gonna go, bye Mom. Bye Grandma.”

I slumped in my chair, as Mom placed a hand on my shoulder, “He’ll come around. Believe me, I’ve tried talking to him too. And the boys aren’t any help.”

Boinky walked in, still slightly droozy from sleep. I got up to give him a kiss on the cheek, “Hey you, Marcus just left for school.”

“Oh. Alright.” he grumbled, as he ran his hand through my hair.

We sat down on the living room couch, nestled in each other’s embrace, “...this is nice.” Boinky observed, “Just another day, you know? Things haven’t been normal for a while now.”

“No, not since Marcus was young. Not since we were young.” I realized.

“Hey, you got a break. You didn’t age while you were dead. You’re still a Young Adult.”

I checked my PlumbBob, “Oh hey...you’re right. That means that...well, what does that mean? It certainly means I’m closer in age to Marcus, you get a younger wife-”

“It means Tommy’s the older sibling now.” Boinky pointed out.

I chuckled, “True, in the technical sense, but don’t you go telling him that. Where is he anyway?”

“Military career, remember?” Mom interjected, “They have him going to work so early…”

I nodded, “That’s right…”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. I got up from the couch but Mom beat me to the door. She opened it to see Bella and Mortimer,

“Oh, Bella, Mortimer, it’s so good to see you two again.” she greeted, as she gestured to me, “But, I’m sure you two aren’t here to see me.”

Bella ran over and threw herself at me, “Tommy told us the news, I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too. I’m so sorry I had to miss your wedding though.”

She flipped her hand, “Pfff, it wasn’t your fault. It was kind of awkward having Claire as my maid of honor though. It just wouldn’t have been the same if it had been you…” she smiled, “Well, the good thing is that you’re back.”

Mortimer moved up closer to Bella, “Yeah, hey, has Percy come to visit you since you got back?”

Bella and I separated, “No, he hasn’t.” we hadn’t spoken since I’d broken up with him all those weeks ago. I hadn't even seen him since then. But then again, according to my PlumbBob we were still on good terms.

“Well, he’ll probably swing by later today. Just, go easy on him, he’s still torn up over you two.” he warned me.

I’m not sure why this came as a surprise to me. I’d figured he’d have moved on by now, that was high school after all.

“Alright, thanks Mortimer.”

“Well, we should go, but we should all get together sometime. Maybe dinner at the bistro?” she suggested, “It’d be me, Mortimer, you, Boinky and Tommy too. Just like old times.”

“Not quite like old times.” Boinky pointed out, “I don’t think we would’ve chosen eat out at the bistro back then.”

Bella laughed, “Oh, I remember those days. I love Hogan’s, but I just can’t digest that kind of food like I use to.”

We waved Bella and Mortimer goodbye as they struggled to get in their car together. I didn’t know why they insist on riding in the same car, carpooling was always so finicky unless you were carpooling to work.

Boinky and I walked back in once they left, and I went to work on starting a new book while Boinky got dressed for work.

“Where’re you working tonight dear?” I asked, as I settled into the desk chair.

“The Sports Stadium. Gonna go early so I can help set things up. Wish me luck?”

I kissed him on the cheek, “Of course.”

“Hey…” he paused, “You gonna be alright? I mean, Marcus doesn’t get home for at least another hour and...well…”

“Boinky, I’ll be fine. The Controller is in its place, and I’ll be fine by myself.” I assured him.

“It’s just...you can’t blame me for being a little paranoid, right?”

“We installed that new burglar alarm right? If anything happens, I’ll know. Now relax, and get ready for your show. I’d go, but I should probably be working. Won’t you think my readers will be surprised when they realize I’m back from the dead?”

He laughed, “Yeah, or maybe you could be a ‘ghost writer’.”

I chuckled, “Maybe.”

He kissed me on the forehead one more time before he headed out the door and I returned to my writing. I felt my chest sigh heavily, poor Boinky, I hated seeing him so worried.

Boinky’d only been gone a couple of minutes when I heard the doorbell rang. I checked my PlumbBob, and I saw that it was Percy, just like Mortimer mentioned. I got out of my chair and crossed the hallway to the front door. The moment I opened it, Percy launched himself at me, something of a trend today.

“I’ve missed you so much.” he whispered into my ear.

I nudged my head onto his shoulder, “...I missed you too.”

“...I still love you.”

I twisted my lip, “...”


	29. Decisions, Decisions

I let go of Percy, as I stepped back, "Percy, of course I still love you. But...things are just, different now."

"Yes, but we can make it work again. You've been given a second chance at life, shouldn't that count for something? Aren't you going to do something about that?"

I sighed, as I gritted my teeth, "Yeah...I am doing something. I have a family, a job, and I can't leave them. How do you think they'd feel if I ran off with you?"

"...it, it was a mistake of me to come here. I'm sorry." he apologized.

"I mean, we can still be friends. I wouldn't mind that."

He didn't say anything, he just turned his head, and walked out the door. I sat back down on the couch, I felt dejected and alone. I shifted until I was lying down, and I felt the first tear roll down my cheek as I cried myself to sleep.

I wasn't going to tell Boinky about what happened, or Mom or Tommy. They could all clearly sense something was up, but I just choked it up as adjusting to being alive again. To be honest, I wasn't sure why I was so sad to begin with. Why didn't he reach out sooner? If he had...I probably would've taken him back. But then again, it was my PlumbBob that forced me to break up with him in the first place. _It_ had other plans. Was it's plan for me to marry Boinky after all? He'd been there when I broke up with Percy. He's always been there, even before Percy came into the picture. But now I had the Controller, could I change the past? Could I go back in time and change how everything happened? I remembered going back into my memories, how painful that was…

Suddenly, I heard the front door slam shut. I look at the time, Marcus just got out of school, that must be him. I walked out of my room to greet him,

"Hey Marcus, how was your da-"

He stomped right past me, his charged and urgent pace causing him to glitch right through me. The moment...he passed...through...me…time...stopped...for a...second…the world...blurred,

"Not now Mom." he mumbled, as time returned to normal.

I looked around, as the textures began popping back in again. I decided dealing with my son was a more urgent matter, and I closely followed him,

"Marcus, what's wrong?"

He slammed the door in my face, immediately locking it. Going into my PlumbBob, I unlocked it, but he locked it again,

"Go away."

"Marcus, nothing is going to get better if you don't tell us what's going on."

"Just leave me alone."

I paused, my hands pressed on his door, "Look...I'm not going to force you to talk. But...but I want you to know that I'm here for you, and, and that you can confide in me, when you want to."

I lifted myself off of the door and began walking back into the hallway when I heard the door slowly creak open. I turned around to see the door now partially opened, and took it as an invitation to enter. I cautiously stood by the door frame, and looked in. Marcus was lying down on his bed, staring up at the frame of the top bunk.

"Mom, what was going to school like for you?" he asked, his focus still on the ceiling.

I sat down on the desk chair by his bed, not quite sure where to start, "Well, things were great for the most part. I was pretty worry-free when I was younger. But…but then the teenaged years came. I got a new Trait, which took some time to adjust to. I joined the Newspaper Club, went to Prom, graduated, and...and your father came back from boarding school. That was it."

"But...was it ever hard?"

"Of course. Teenaged years are always hard, for everyone." I told him, "But as the years go by, you start to forget all of the hard parts. You only really remember the good times...in the end."

Marcus sniffled, "Then I won't remember my high school years."

"Don't say that. You can't have a negative attitude about everything. Even if things are bad now, you have your family here to support you."

"...thanks Mom."

I reached out and placed my hand on his forehead, "It'll get better Marcus...trust me."

I got up and exited the room, closing the door behind me. I went into Buy/Build mode and took the spiral staircase out of the family inventory. I left the house and crossed the backyard, where the staircase had been placed. I hurriedly descended the staircase, and as soon as I got to the bottom, I put the staircase back in the family inventory, leaving me in total darkness. One light flickered on at the end of the secret basement, revealing the Controller. I picked it up from the ground and started it up.

The first thing I checked was Marcus' memories. None of his memories included friends, or any social interactions outside family. All of the screenshots showed him either alone, or with one of us. I couldn't help but smile when I saw a screenshot of me teaching him how to walk. I had the exact same picture in my memories.

The next thing I checked was Marcus' relationships. Despite his isolationist memories, he knew several other students his age, including one that's already a Young Adult. I knew that with a swipe of my finger I could make them all his best friends, and he could have a normal childhood. But...would it be right? And would he find out? I didn't think Boinky had ever told him about the Controller, but he's bound to find out eventually.

"Hold it right there, Ms. Heroor." a sinister voice demanded.

I turned around to see Sean, wand in hand, a malicious grin smeared across his face, "Just put down the Controller and I won't have to set your house ablaze again."


	30. Forgotten, But Not Quite Gone

   I was sitting down at my desk when the doorbell rang. I wasn't expecting any visitors today, maybe it was the University Mascot here for Marcus. I got up and walked over to the door, but I stopped just as I was about to open it. What if that was Sean at the door? Very carefully, I approached the door, closing in on the spot where the door will open for me. It swings open, and revealed an outrageously dressed Teenager standing at the door, her black-painted lips twisted into a scowl.

"Uhm...may I help you?" I asked cautiously, was this girl paparazzi?

I began to take a closer look at her. There was something oddly familiar about her. Under her heavy black makeup and her punk rock clothes, she had almost the same facial complexion of...me.

The girl frowned further, which suggested that she'd expected me to respond quite differently.

"Yeah, this is 22 Rose St, right?" she asked defensively.

I nodded, "Yes...this is."

She pushed past me to enter the house, “Where’s Marcus?”

I didn’t invite her into the house yet, she physically couldn’t have entered until I’d done so...unless…

“Who are you?” I demanded bluntly.

She did look Marcus’s age, a friend maybe? But I can’t imagine Marcus being friends with someone like her.

She turned around, and gave me a stern look, “Just call me Mandy.”

“Alright, but who  are you? And how did you get into my house?”

Just then, Marcus run up behind me, “Mom!” he stopped in his tracks when the girl came into his view, “Oh…”

“Great, you’re here.” she strided over and grabbed his wrist, pulling him into the house, “We’re going to your room.”

She grabbed his wrist, that’s another thing I haven’t seen before...

“Wait...does Mom know? Have you introduced yourself yet?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes, before she further pulled him through the hallway and into his room, the door slamming behind them.

“What was that all about?” it was Boinky, home from work.

“Marcus’s got someone over from school...at least, I think.” I told him truthfully.

Boinky nodded, “Hmph, well, what’s he like?”

“It’s a she.” I explained, “And she is, rather brash. Kind of rude to be honest.”

“At least he’s talking to someone.”

The two exited Marcus’s room solemnly, as if they were about to apologize for something,

“Mom...Dad.” he began, “This...she’s...this is Melissa.”

What?! I looked at Boinky in shock, and he returned the same awed expression.

“Ou…our Melissa?” he muttered.

Melissa nudged Marcus’s arm, “Yes, it’s me, but I’d still rather be called Mandy. Melissa sounds so...stiff.”

“We thought you were dead!” I exclaimed, “Why didn’t you come to us sooner?”

“I didn’t even know who you guys were!” she defended herself, “According to my records, I was rescued from a fire by a social worker. I was put in the Abyss until I was adopted by my adoptive parents.”

“...the Abyss? What’s that?” I asked, not liking the ominous name.

“It’s a space of non existence.” she explains, “It’s where Sims go when they’ve been taken out of the world but they’re not dead. It’s also where all original Sims come from.”

“That’s ridiculous, I’ve never heard of that.” Boinky refuted.

“It kind of makes sense.” Marcus argues, “I mean, who were Grandma’s parents?”

That’s true...I always assumed Mom and Dad had parents, but I’ve never met them, and they’ve never even mentioned having parents, or any kind of childhood to begin with.

“Melissa, where are your adoptive parents? Are they here with you?” I asked.

She shook her head, “No, they live in Pleasantview.”

“I mean, do they know you’re here?” I clarified.

“No, they won’t miss me.”

I gave Boinky a worried glance. Would we get in trouble if we didn’t turn her in?

“How about you stay for dinner with us?” I suggested, “So we can...catch up.”

She nodded slowly, “...sure.”

**  
**


	31. Marcus's Move

    I reached the door and my backpack appeared on my shoulders, “I’m heading out Mom!”

“Have fun at school Marcus!” Mom replied, “Also, make sure you help your sister out on her first day.”

I watched as Mandy/Melissa slowly walked out of the hallway, her new backpack only slung over one shoulder. I didn’t know you could do that.

She followed me out the door, and we walked across the green front lawn to the school bus,

“Well, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

She shrugged, “I don’t like these clothes she’s making me wear.”

Mom had made Mandy change into a plain shirt and skirt, instead of the edgy punk ensemble she’d come to our house with. Also her makeup was now less pronounced, with a subtle nude lipstick instead of the black lipstick.

“Well, I mean, nobody really likes goth chicks at school-”

“Who cares?” she asked, as we teleported into the bus.

“Uhm...everyone?”

She rolled her eyes, “Whatever.”

We arrived at school and the minute we entered the building, I felt everyone’s eyes drawn to Mandy. I wanted to run to the bathroom to hide, or at least have some kind of paper bag on my head. My stomach plummeted when I saw Bratty Goth marching up to us, along with her posse,

“And who are you suppose to be?” she snapped at Mandy.

Mandy arched her eyebrow, “I could be asking you the same thing.”

Bratty giggled maliciously, “Who am I? Excuse me, have you been living under a rock? Haven’t you ever heard of the Goth family?”

“No, why should I care?” she countered.

“Because her family controls this town, and you just got put on her black list.” Olivia, one of Bratty’s cronies tells her.

Someone went up from behind Bratty and grabbed her shoulder, “Bratty, what are you doing?”

She turned around and saw that it was her brother, Alexander Goth, “Oh, brother dear, I was just welcoming the new blood.”

He peeked over Bratty’s shoulder and Mandy caught his eye through his circular glasses, “Oh…”

Bratty grabbed Alexander by his sweater vest and pulled him away, “C’mon, lets get out of here.”

The crowd of students that had been spectating the event also began to disperse, leaving Mandy and I standing in the hallway. Mandy turned to me and gave me a rather confused look, and I splayed my arms out, giving a goofy smile,   
“Welcome to school.”

She rolled her eyes before she walked off into the hallway, “This place is just as screwed up as the last town I was in.”

   I overheard students talking about Mandy all day. Bratty and her group of preppy princesses clearly didn’t like her, but Alexander and his nerdy science guys seemed to think they can score with her. A part of their group was in my math class and I sat one row over from them,

“Did you see that new girl? Totally hot!”

“Yeah, but I think Alexander’s already called dibs on her.”

“He did? He didn’t say anything.”

“I know, but you saw how he was looking at her. Guy’s got it bad, no doubt.”

Alexander Goth liking my sister? While I felt like I should be the protective older brother, why did she get noticed by a guy on her first day and I spent my entire school career not being noticed by anyone? It’s not fair.

I met up with Mandy during lunch, her impartial and indifferent expression giving nothing away.

“So...how’s your first day going sis?” I asked nervously, as I dreaded her response.

She shrugged, “Eh. You guys still have to learn Simlish? There’s a dead language if I ever heard one.”

“Ah, docka morpher.” I replied, but I saw that she had no idea what I was saying, “Uhm...it means: I know what you mean. I’m...I’m taking AP Simlish.”

“I can see that.” she mumbled, “Shouldn’t you have friends you should be hanging out with right now?”

“Yeah, that’s the thing...I don’t have any friends.” I confessed.

“How could you not have any friends?” Mandy asked, “You’ve been here for how long?”

I awkwardly fumbled my hands around, trying to think of a response, “Well...you see...I...just don’t really get along with anyone here.”

“No no, that’s not an answer. As screwed up as this school is, there has to be at least a couple of cool people here.” she figured, “Or...is cool not your crowd?”

“That’s the thing, I don’t have a crowd.”

“But, if says on your profile that you’re a certified Nerd, you even already have your extra trait.”

I smiled proudly, “Yeah, I chose Bookworm.”

She rolled her eyes, “What a waste. Anyway, what I meant was, by that reasoning, shouldn’t you be hanging out with the other Nerds?”

“Yeah...I guess. But, that’s not really the reason.”

“Then what is it?!” she shouted frustratedly, “What are you so afraid of?”

I sighed, “...you really want to know?”

“Yes.”

I gestured for her to follow me, and I started walking out the door and behind the school, “Okay...this might sound crazy, but I have to explain it before actually showing it to you. Sometimes...sometimes I change into...into a life sized doll.”

“Yeah, no dur, I can too, we’re half Imaginary Friend, Dad made a career out of for crying out loud-”

I stopped her, “I know, I know. But I can’t control it, sometimes I change when I don’t want to, or I change and I can’t change back...or both.” 

“Hmm...that is strange.” she noted, “Have you talked to Mom and Dad about it?”

I nodded, “But they don’t know what to do about it either. They said it’s something called a glitch-”

“A glitch? Marcus, if it’s a glitch, it’s perfectly understandable. Glitches are becoming more common everyday.”

Wow...Mandy was being very...kind, and understanding. More so than any of my classmates have ever been.

“Well, if it’s normal, then  they don’t see it as that. I’m a freak-”

She grasped my shoulders, “No, you’re a freak to them. The minute you start internalizing that kind of thing, the minute it becomes real.”

I fought back tears, “Yo...you’re right. Thanks sis.”

“C’mon then, if these guys are that terrible, then we don’t need friends.” she told me.

I sniffled, “Yeah, we don’t need them.”


	32. Principal Forte and Alexander

   I was called to the principal’s office later that day. The old principal had disappeared while Mom was attending school, and the school had just gotten a new one, although I’d never met him. I stepped into his small office, where boxes lay about containing all the old awards and photos of the previous principal. 

“Marcus Heroor, correct?” a thin man with stylish glasses and dark hair asks, “C’mon in. Sorry for the mess.”

I sat down in the chair adjacent to his desk, and he sat down in his authoritative leather principal’s chair, “So, I see your sister is a new student at our school. How’s that working out for you?”

I shrugged, “It’s...alright. I mean, it’s only her first day, so of course she’s not going to be making friends right away but...we’re getting there.”

The man smiled, “Good. Actually, I just talked with your sister. Very nice girl.”

Nice girl? Melissa must have put on some serious face for the principal to think she’s a ‘nice girl’, let alone anyone at all.

“Oh...you did?” I asked, I didn’t see her on the way in.

He nodded, “She mentioned she just moved back in with your family. Have you been separated for very long?”

Honestly, I didn’t think this should be any of his business, “Uhm...I guess so.”

“And how...exactly did your parents come by your sister?”

“They didn’t find her, she sort of just...showed up.”

He continued to nod as his fingers scratched his chin, “Hmm...Marcus...are you aware of a device your parents own known as the Controller?”

I leaned back as I arched my eyebrow in confusion, “No...no, I don’t-”   
“Don’t lie to me Marcus. Doing so would reflect badly on you in our school community.” the principal warned.

School community? What school community? What little school community we had was comprised of tight cliches that had shaky relationships with one another at best.

“Mr….uhm...Mr….?”

“Mr. Forte, young man.” he snapped coldly.

I nodded, “Mr. Forte, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Honest.”

He leaned back in his chair as he scratches his chin, “Hmm...well, if you insist you don’t know anything…”

“I don’t.”

He pointed to the door, “We’ll be in touch, Mr. Heroor.”

I lifted myself from my seat and scurried out of his office as fast as I could. Controller? What was he talking about?

I exited his office to find Mandy leaning against the wall next to me, “Well, did he interrogate you too?”

“Yeah, something about a Controller, right?”

She pushed herself off of the wall, “Mhm, I had to get him off of my back by giving him some sob story. He thinks I came back home to steal the Controller from you guys.”

I raised an eyebrow, “But...how could you steal it if you don’t even know what it is…?”

“I don’t know! I guess he assumed I knew what it was.” she figured.

“You think we should tell our parents about this?” I asked.

She leaped up, “Absolutely not! What if he’s right, and they are hiding some valuable thing? The Controller sounds like some kind of mind control device to me. What if they...wipe our memories or something?”

“Are you crazy? They’re our parents! Why would they do that?”

She paused,  “...why wouldn’t they?”

I tried my best to think of a rebuttal, but for some reason I can’t. She had a point, they’re our parents, why wouldn’t they want us to do what they say? What if they already have?

“Anyway, Mr. Forte is officially a jerkwad. Although...he is kind of cute.” she commented.

I stuck out my tongue, “Ew, gross! He’s the principal.”

“Kind of young for a principal, don’t you think?” she observed as she looked back at the office door.

I nodded my head, “True…”

   Mandy and I exited the school building to find Alexander Goth waiting for her,

“Hey, Mandy, wanna hang out later today?” he asked her, “Uhm...Marcus, you can come too.”

I was immediately suspicious. This guy had never given me the time of day before, and now he’s suddenly asking for me to hang out with him now that Mandy’s around. But then again, it’s not me he wants to hang out with...is it?

Mandy shrugged nonchalantly, “Why not? Where’re you headed?”

“Just the park. A couple of friends and I are gonna toss around a ball for a little bit.” he explained.

Ugh...sports. Not my cup of tea, I was more of a video games and comic books kind of guy. Geeky, yes, but it’s a lot better than aimlessly throwing a ball back and forth.

“...sure.” she replied.

We all headed to the park, where several other guys from Alexander’s group are all waiting for him, all them clad in the school’s letterman jacket. They all nodded in a joking sort of approval as we approach, Alexander a little closer to Mandy while I stood off to the side.

“Yo, Alex! Who’s the chick?” one of them asked.

I shuttered as that jock referred to my sister as a “chick”.

“Her name’s Mandy.”

“Hey, what’s the dweb doing here?” another one of them asked, jabbing me in the arm.

I rubbed my arm as I felt the pain of his meaty fist impact me. Alexander didn’t spare me an introduction as he continued to stare at Mandy. Feeling really uncomfortable, I was tempted to just leave the situation, until I realized that leaving Mandy alone with these guys would probably be worse.

I sat down at a nearby bench while one of the guys presented a football. The guys spreaded out along the park, while Alexander and Mandy sat by themselves on the next bench. While sort of far away, I could still pick up on their conversation.

“So Mandy...you play any sports?” he asked as he removed his glasses.

She raised an eyebrow, “Do I look like the kind of person who’d be playing sports?”

He shrugged, “I had to ask. What about extracurriculars? Debate? Newspaper? Drama?”

I rolled my eyes. He’s looking in all the wrong places, Mandy wasn’t into preppy stuff like that.

“Well, I play the guitar.” she offered, “But I’m not in any clubs.”

“You should join. I bet you’re good.” he complimented as he leaned in.

“Not really, it’s sort of just a hobby.” she shrugged, leaning away.

“But...we all need something that defines us. You just need to find it.”

I gagged. That’s so lame dude, and that’s coming from me.

She pushed herself away further, “Maybe I don’t need something to define me. Can’t I just be...me?”

He rolled his eyes, “Yeah, uhuh. Because that’s so possible.”

She got up from the bench, “Look, I don’t think this is gonna work, okay? You’re nice and all, but we’re just not very compatible.” she walked over to me and I got up, “We’re outta here.”

“Where’re you goin?” Alexander asked, his tone hostile, “You only just got here.”

“Didn’t I just say? We’re going home.” she restated more harshly this time.

I raised a finger and mumbled, “Uhm...I don’t think that’s what he meant by-”

“Look, whatever. We’re going home, and that’s final.” she barked, before grabbing my hand and marching out of the park.

Four of Alexander’s friends block the exits, blocking us on all four sides, Through each exit we tried, they blocked us with their enormous bodies.

Alexander smirked, crossing his arms, “You two aren’t going anywhere.”


End file.
